My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 101 Liu Bei is forced to fight on two fronts

After hearing Zhang Er's analysis and persuasion, Sun Ce finally suppressed his anger and decided to endure it for the time being.

He asked Hua Xin and Hua Ziyu, the envoys he sent to Xu Du, to only convey his loyalty to the court, and never mention Liu Bei and Wang Lang, so as to avoid arousing too many associations from the emperor.

After Hua Xin received the mission, he immediately set off from Moling. However, he was on behalf of Sun Ce to break with Yuan Shu, so he could not go to Xudu through Yuan Shu's territory, otherwise he would be chopped off by Yuan Shu.

After much deliberation, Hua Xin could only go through Guangling, which was Liu Bei's territory, and then through Xuzhou, which was controlled by Lu Bu, and then go to Xudu.

This route is a bit longer and will take at least a month to get there.

Hua Xin's detour also indirectly caused Yuan Shu to learn about what happened in Jiangdong later, which allowed Yuan Shu's arrogance and arrogance to continue for a longer period of time.

Yuan Shu's fear of Liu Bei and vigilance against Zhuge Jin would cause him to be slow to react for a few days and cause him greater losses.

Because as early as the beginning of June, just a few days after Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, Yuan Shu, with the mentality of picking a weak persimmon to establish his authority, had already launched another invasion war against Liu Bei.

At this moment, Yuan and Liu were still fighting.

……

The timeline goes back to about twenty days ago, the third day of June.

That was two days after Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor.

In Huaiyin County, Guangling Commandery, Liu Bei was holding a grand banquet to welcome Jian Yong and his party back from Hebei.

That morning, Jian Yong's fleet arrived in Huaiyin and brought back the families of Tian Yu and others.

Zhuge Jin improved the ship for Mi Zhu, which had significantly improved safety and navigation stability. In addition, the monsoon in the early summer was very favorable, and there was also a crosswind when returning in May.

Therefore, even elderly family members in their forties or fifties would not suffer from severe illness due to the unfamiliar climate and water. At most, they would just suffer from slight discomfort and vomiting.

After completing this mission, the old men from Youzhou in Liu Bei's camp were no longer willing to stop Liu Bei from expanding southwards and considering the established fact that he might have to start his career in the south in the future.

The biggest achievement of Jian Yong's trip was obviously to attract Zhao Yun and his troops. Liu Bei's banquet was also held for Zhao Yun, Jian Yong, Tian Yu and others.

As soon as the banquet started, Liu Bei didn't even wait for three rounds of wine to be served, but stared at Zhao Yun drinking and reminiscing about the past, disregarding etiquette, which made Zhao Yun, who had been away for nearly three years, feel quite awkward.

Fortunately, Liu Bei had a high EQ. Before sending Jian Yong, Zhuge Jin analyzed with him the possible reasons why Zhao Yun "did not return after the mourning period for his brother was over". So Liu Bei tried to choose words that would make Zhao Yun feel comfortable. His words were nothing but hints.
"Zilong is truly a man of integrity who does not seek wealth and honor, but only cares about right and wrong. He could no longer serve Liu Yu because Gongsun Zan murdered him, but he could not bear to betray his master and go to another place, so he returned to his hometown to defend himself. After the mourning period for his brother was over, he was still willing to live in poverty, which shows his integrity."

"He didn't come to me after that. I guess it was because he saw that I had already established a firm foothold in Xuzhou and held a high position. He was afraid that if he came to add to my glory, it would cause criticism. He thought that Lord Xuande would be able to handle the situation without his help, so he continued to stick to his poverty. It was not until he heard that his former master was in trouble and only had Guangling County left that he came to help the needy and provide timely assistance."

These words were spoken slowly and leisurely over drinking, and Zhao Yun was quite moved, feeling both proud and honored.

He was originally lent to Liu Bei by Gongsun Zan, so it was not easy for him to directly join Liu Bei for a long time, and he did encounter the death of his brother. On the other hand, Gongsun Zan killed his master Liu Yu and lost the support of the people. He could not work hard for Gongsun Zan, so he returned to his hometown and was idle for two years, without helping anyone.

These behavioral logics are indeed Zhao Yun’s true intentions.

As for what Liu Bei mentioned, "helping the poor and needy, being trustworthy and faithful, only willing to provide help in times of need, not adding icing on the cake, or being greedy for wealth and fame", Zhao Yun actually didn't think that much about it.

It can only be said that he has such a moral inclination in his heart, but he has not read much and cannot summarize it clearly. It was Liu Bei who helped him to express it. Zhao Yun could only say "Ah, yes, yes, yes" while drinking, saying that this is what he thought. The lord knows me so well, Yun can only repay him with his life.

Before Zhao Yun came this time, he actually felt a little psychologically burdened. He was afraid that Liu Bei could no longer be so open-hearted with him and treat him as a close friend as he did three years ago. He thought of many excuses for what had happened in the past few years, but he didn't expect that the last sentence would not be used. Liu Bei helped him resolve it, and it was better than he thought.

Liu Bei drank with him for several rounds, but he could not appease Zhao Yun alone all the time. When he saw that he had made things clear, he went to drink with Jian Yong, Tian Yu and others to thank Jian Yong for his hard work and contribution.

Mi Zhu, who was standing by, took the opportunity when Liu Bei went to find Jian Yong to drink a few cups with Zhao Yun and roughly explained the whole story: "My lord, you are good at judging people, and everyone in the world knows it. Zilong, don't worry. In fact, you have to thank someone this time -

The words that the master just speculated about were actually mentioned by Mr. Ziyu to the master at the banquet last winter when Mr. Ziyu's family was divided into different households. The master also agreed with it, which is why he followed Xianhe's trip. I didn't expect that Mr. Ziyu and you, Zilong, have never met before, but he could guess your mood and concerns in the past few years from thousands of miles away. He is really a god."

Zhao Yun was also shocked when he heard this. He didn't expect that there was someone in the world who had never seen him, but could understand him so thoroughly based on other people's retelling. Although the analysis of "Mr. Zi Yu" did not completely match what he thought in his heart, it at least helped him and Liu Bei find a way out, and he played a vital role in making this happen.

"How could there be such a god in the world? He could guess the state of mind of a stranger from thousands of miles away? He could even come up with a statement that could save both sides' face? He is so insightful. If I have the chance in the future, I would like to thank him in person and ask for his advice..."

Zhao Yun thought to himself.

After Mi Zhu said these words, he casually tried to make friends with Zhao Yun: "I have also rewarded and settled the troops that Zilong brought with him according to the order of the lord. Zilong does not need to worry about it. Just concentrate on serving the lord in the future."

Zhao Yun's expression froze, and he came back from his deep thoughts. He quickly bowed to Mi Zhu and thanked him: "Thank you, Zi Zhong. I've made you spend so much money..."

Mi Zhu waved his hands: "Money is something outside of one's body, it's not worth mentioning."

It turned out that Zhao Yun did not come alone this time, but also brought his old friends with him.

Historically, he stayed in Hebei until the Battle of Guandu that year, when Liu Bei went to Yuan Shao, and Zhao Yun found another opportunity to join Liu. During that time, he also brought hundreds of warriors to Liu Bei, "known as the Left General's Troops", and played a significant role in Liu Bei's reconstruction of the cavalry.

It can be seen that on the one hand, Zhao Yun was able to keep in touch with his old friends in his hometown, and on the other hand, he was also in contact with many of the White Horse Volunteers who also abandoned Gongsun Zan.

After all, Gongsun Zan's killing of Liu Yu dealt a heavy blow to his reputation. After killing Liu Yu, many people abandoned Gongsun Zan, but they did not want to join Yuan Shao, so they were unemployed and stopped serving in the army. Zhao Yun was able to attract people of this type.

Although Zhao Yun returned three years earlier this time, he still had his connections in his hometown of Jizhou. When he heard that he was going to work for Liu Bei, he temporarily called on his friends and recruited 600 old friends and veterans of the White Horse Volunteers. However, Zhao Yun could not raise enough war horses, so even though these people were elite cavalry, there were only dozens of war horses for the time being, and most of the rest could only be used as infantry for the time being.

When Jian Yong used ships to transport them back south, he did not have enough transportation capacity to transport hundreds of war horses, so he had to solve the problem separately after arriving in the south.

When Zhao Yun was recruiting these people, he promised them a lot of "settlement fees" and other rewards. Jian Yong did not have that much cash on hand when he was in Hebei, so he first brought these 600 cavalrymen and their families to the south, and made empty promises that they would have money once they arrived in Guangling.

After Liu Bei received the letter, of course he would not refuse to acknowledge it. He ordered that all the prices promised by Zhao Yun be paid. However, the treasury did not have that much spare money at the moment, so he asked Mi Zhu to pay out of his own pocket again.

Mi Zhu obediently paid the money and did Zhao Yun a favor. He also said that he would use the sea ship that Zhuge Jin had improved for him in the near future to see if he could go to Youzhou by sea to do business and buy some war horses from Liaodong.

Liu Bei's army now has a total of two to three thousand war horses, more than half of which were captured during the battle against Yuan Shu last year. The collapse of Liu Xun's army alone gave Liu Bei more than a thousand horses for free.

The number of elite cavalry in Liu Bei's army was originally insufficient. The old cavalrymen he brought from Youzhou had been decimated by years of fighting and the number was less than a thousand.

After Liu Bei seized the war horses last year, he once selected those with good horsemanship from the infantry to serve as cavalry and trained them strictly. This time Zhao Yun brought back 600 former White Horse Volunteers for him, so Liu Bei of course directly allocated the war horses to Zhao Yun's men first, so that they could immediately form combat effectiveness.

When the guests and hosts were enjoying themselves, drinking and making friends, and giving out rewards, Sun Qian suddenly rushed into the hall, interrupting the banquet, and repeatedly said that he had received urgent reports from spies that something had happened in Huainan. Seeing Sun Qian's serious expression, Liu Bei knew that the matter was serious, so he had to stop the noise, take a sip of the sobering soup, and then sit up straight to listen to the report.

Sun Qian reported: "I just received an urgent report this afternoon that Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor! It happened two days ago. And I heard that after Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, he inspected the three armies that day, distributed rewards, and made a speech to swear an oath to the troops. He must be planning to take Guangling."

The originally joyful atmosphere of the welcoming banquet in the lobby was immediately brought to a freezing point by the urgent report. Liu Bei's expression also became solemn, but he did not seem surprised.

"Is this day finally here? My coming to Huaiyin to set up defenses ahead of time has paid off. Gongyou, send someone to Guangling today to exchange Yide as soon as possible. Shuzhi will be enough to watch over Guangling.

It is unlikely that Liu Xun will attack us from the Yangtze River. Even if he sends troops, Zi Yu in Jiangnan will definitely find a way to help us keep Liu Xun. Therefore, we must concentrate our forces to prevent Ji Ling from attacking us from the Huai River.

In addition, we must immediately find a way to contact Yuan Long who is with Lu Bu to see if he can continue to stabilize Lu Bu. As long as Lu Bu and Ji Ling don't attack us together, there shouldn't be any problems."

Sun Qian wrote them down one by one and said he would convey them later.

After Liu Bei finished explaining the liaison matters, he began to deploy the troops at hand. He told Tian Yu, who was drinking just now,
"Guorang, you will take 5,000 Huaiyin garrison troops with you tomorrow and march to Xuyi. Set up a siege posture and set up a camp 30 miles away from Xuyi city.

We are not really going to counterattack Xuyi, we are just making a gesture to slow down Ji Ling's pace and provide a buffer. By the way, we can also wait and see whether Ji Ling has received reinforcements from other troops this time.

After Yide goes north from Guangling, I will follow with Yide and lead the main force to join you. In the next two or three days, you just need to reinforce the camp and don't go into battle. Even if the Xuyi defenders provoke you, you can ignore them. "

"I will obey your orders!" Tian Yu immediately accepted the order.

Zhao Yun, who was standing aside, saw that Liu Bei had given all his instructions. Liu Bei himself, Zhang Fei, Tian Yu and Chen Dao had all given instructions, but he had nothing to do. He couldn't help but feel anxious.

He immediately volunteered to fight: "My lord, when Yun was under your command three years ago, he was the first to fight the enemy. This time, a powerful enemy is approaching and our army is stretched thin. Why don't you use me? Yun is willing to be the vanguard and fight to the death to defeat the enemy!"

Liu Bei looked a little hesitant: "You just arrived today, and those White Horse Volunteers and Jizhou warriors you recruited have just received their rewards for settling down. They haven't lived a peaceful and prosperous life for a single day. I am sending them into battle, which is really unbearable.

As the saying goes, "eat the salary of others and be loyal to them", I treat people as a noble man, and they treat me as a noble man. When I employ people, I always make friends with them with kindness and then let them do things for me. How can I use them immediately before showing my kindness and kindness?

Moreover, the northerners who suddenly came south would definitely not be able to adapt to the local climate and would suffer from many diseases. After sailing on the sea for more than half a month, they would definitely lose their strength and become weak. The horses that were supposed to be allocated to them had not yet been adapted to riding. If they suddenly went to the battlefield, wouldn’t it be a waste of their lives and a delay in important matters?

These people will definitely not be able to go to the battlefield within six months or three months. They should first recuperate and train well. There is no need to mention this matter any further."

Liu Bei had his own principle in this regard, that is, he could not try to curry favor with others at the last minute and ask others to work for him. He had to know the ins and outs of the matter and work things out well with them in normal times.

Moreover, good steel should be used on the blade. Liu Bei thought to himself that he had not yet reached the end of his rope, and he could not use those old White Horse Volunteers as infantry, which would be a waste of talent.

Zhao Yun thought about it and felt that it made sense. He did not dare to persuade him any further, but he still insisted:

"Even if the lord is kind and does not want to use people who have not received the favor, I have received the lord's favor three years ago and have been with him through thick and thin. This should not be included in the list, right?

I brought the six hundred cavalry with me. My lord, you can temporarily let them settle down and train to adapt to the climate and soil in the south, and use them in the future. I am willing to go to the battle with the army tomorrow!"

After hearing this, Liu Bei carefully observed Zhao Yun from head to toe and decided to be more cautious: "Zilong, although you are brave and strong, you have also been sailing on the sea for half a month and have never been to such a southern part. How can you not have physical weakness?
"Besides, the warhorse you rode in the past has only been with you for half a month, so it is definitely not suitable for the battle. If you want to fight now, you must change your warhorse. If you can't tame it, you will inevitably be in danger in the battle! It's better to take a long-term view and rest first."

Zhao Yun had a resolute look on his face, and he refused to give in: "I have been idle for three years, and I have been training myself and honing my martial arts every day. I have long been eager to fight. Why should I rest after a few rough seas?

If you don't believe me, my lord, please give me another fierce horse. I will try to tame it in public today and ride it to practice archery. If I fail, I will not dare to fight again!"

Seeing that Zhao Yun was so determined, Sun Qian and Mi Zhu beside him also helped Zhao Yun to persuade him. Only then did Liu Bei's attitude soften. Then he solemnly gave a few instructions and asked someone to lead a good horse to the parade ground.

Liu Bei also stood up and called out to the people around him: "Since Zilong is so ambitious, let's stop drinking here today. We can continue drinking when we win another day! Anyone who wants to watch the military exercise, come with me to the parade ground."

Mi Zhu, Sun Qian, Jian Yong and several other civil servants did not refuse. Although they were not good at horse riding and archery, they were still interested in taking a look.

A group of people quickly moved their position and came to the Huaiyin parade ground. A groom had already brought a silver-white and slightly pink Ferghana horse.

Zhao Yun was following behind Liu Bei. When he saw the horse, his eyes lit up and he exclaimed in surprise, "What a good horse."

Liu Bei was very proud of Zhao Yun's praise and said, "Zilong is indeed a horse expert, but do you know the origin of this horse?"

Zhao Yun certainly didn't know, so Liu Bei continued to show off: "In late autumn last year, I sent Ziyu to Xudu as an envoy. Ziyu is also a genius in the world. After being an envoy, he made a big fuss in Xudu. He helped the chief architect Kong Wenju plan the construction of the imperial palace and saved the people's labor. He also debated the classics and refuted the famous scholar Ni Heng.

He even reported this to the emperor, who summoned him to argue the merits of the Han Dynasty's conquest of the world. The emperor was delighted and gave him two horses from Dayuan. Ziyu originally planned to ride one horse himself and take the other back to leave with his brother Kongming.

It was because Kong Ming was young, only seventeen years old now, and he was not good at horsemanship at that time, and could not control it, so he left it with me - well, in fact, if Zi Yu was allowed to train it himself, he would not be able to control it. The two horses given by the emperor were originally one relatively docile and one relatively fierce. Zi Yu chose the docile one for himself early in the morning, leaving the fierce one to embarrass his brother.

But Zilong is a fierce general, I'm sure you will be fine."

The horse Liu Bei mentioned was actually asked by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei for it after it was brought back last winter. However, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei already had their own war horses at that time, and Zhuge Liang had not tried to ride it yet, so Liu Bei could not just take it away and use it.

A few months ago, Zhuge Liang came to Guangling and took some time to try the horse after finishing his official duties. He gave up because the horse was too strong to ride. Two months later, Zhao Yun came back.

At this moment, Zhao Yun heard that this horse was a reward from the emperor himself after Mr. Ziyu explained the great principles to the emperor, and he was very excited and quickly said that he would do his best.

After Zhao Yun finished speaking, he grabbed his bow and spear, turned over and jumped onto his horse. The Dayuan horse was indeed very fierce. It had not been ridden by anyone for half a year, so it immediately stood up and tried to throw Zhao Yun off.

But even though Zhao Yun did not have double stirrups and a high-bridge saddle, he was still able to hold the horse's belly firmly with only a single leather rope stirrup and a soft saddle, holding the bow and arrow with both hands, without even having to pull the reins.

Even though Liu Bei had long known Zhao Yun's martial arts and horsemanship, he could not help but secretly cheer when he saw this. It seemed that Zhao Yun had really been honing himself in the three years since they last met, and sailing and wandering did not seem to have weakened his body.

The Dayuan horse was unable to throw Zhao Yun off, so it started running wildly, and each time it leaped into the air with all four legs at the same time. However, the man just now couldn't get rid of Zhao Yun, so it was even more impossible to get rid of these little tests that tested endurance.

Zhao Yun calmly let the Dayuan horse gallop wildly, and even shot an arrow at the moment when the horse leaped to the highest point, when the upward speed just dropped to zero but the falling speed had not yet appeared, and hit the target.

The next few arrows were fired in the same way, all of them hit the target when the horse was at its highest point in the air. The Dayuan horse was tired and began to sweat like a spring. The sweat on its shoulder sockets was pink, and it dyed the silver-white horse's body even pinker.

When Liu Bei, Tian Yu and other civil officials saw this, they all cheered and admired.

Liu Bei finally made the decision: "Zilong is such a martial artist, so what if he returns from the sea? You can go to the battlefield. Tomorrow you will go out with Guo Rang to fight against Ji Ling!"

(End of this chapter)