The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

Upon sending out scouts to investigate, they discovered that the group had continued heading directly south!

That night, the Xianbei people and cattle and sheep crowded together all night, and several people were accidentally crushed to death.

Continuing south, we came to see two forks in the road.

The road to the left leads to Dingxiang City and all the way to the heart of Yanmen Pass, where there may be countless villages and granaries, but there will certainly also be a large Han army lying in ambush.

The road to the right leads to Shaling City. Capturing Shaling City will open up the Hetao region and allow access to the Xiongnu's supplies.

However, if they send their entire army to attack Shaling City, the Han army behind them will surely catch up and cut off their retreat. At that time, they will be attacked from both sides and die without a burial place.

After pondering for a long time, Zhizhang finally made up his mind.

"Pass down the order! Divide the troops!"

"Dedicate 10,000 men, led by Vice General Chunzhu, to take the left route and penetrate deep into Bingzhou. Loot as much as you can, and draw the Han army's attention."

"The remaining 20,000 men, follow me to the right and attack Shaling City! Once we take Shaling City, we'll have a foothold!"

"Our leader is wise!" The tribal chiefs all nodded in agreement.

Soon, the 20,000 Xianbei cavalry split into two groups and sped off in different directions.

Behind them, Zhang Fei's scouts discovered that the footprints were scattered and immediately reported back to Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei led the main force south, while simultaneously sending new battle reports to Wucheng City.

……

Wu Chengcheng.

The governor's temporary residence was brightly lit.

Liu Bei and Li Chang were sitting in front of the map, processing battle reports coming from various places.

The table was piled high with various documents and confidential letters.

In a battlefield involving tens of thousands of people from multiple directions, mindless charges are no longer acceptable.

However, Li Chang considered that this was an abnormal Three Kingdoms period, and that there was a group of fierce generals among the military commanders, and that they were dealing with the Xianbei people.

That would allow those fierce generals to charge into battle!

The more people there are, the more information they need to process and summarize in the back.

Daily reports on the status of food supplies, water sources, and roads; the battle situation of each unit; soldier casualties and injuries; enemy movements, etc.

You need to be careful at all times.

The overall strategy has been decided, but whether it will be followed is uncertain.

"On the eastern front, although Second Brother and Wen Yuan said there was an accident and the Xianbei people fled to the border of Youzhou, they also informed Bo'an Gong of Youzhou."

After reading the report, Li Chang put it down.

Liu Bei sighed, "Alas... my affairs in Bingzhou have harmed the people of Youzhou!"

Li Chang shook his head: "Brother, if you think about it from another angle, since they were able to turn to Youzhou after their defeat, isn't it very possible that they weren't that loyal to the Xianbei Chanyu?"

Is it more likely that they had their eyes on Youzhou long ago? But were forced to plunder our Bingzhou because of the Xiongnu chieftain?

So, our Bingzhou even helped Youzhou withstand the first battle!

Jia Xu: "…………"

What a talent! What a talent! The ability to lie through one's teeth!

Liu Bei thought about it for a moment, his instinctive feeling was illogical, but this was what his fourth brother said...

"I see!" He imagined it for himself. "Perhaps they are still the Eastern Xianbei, bordering Youzhou, so they've set their sights on Youzhou!"

"Yes. That's what I think too, brother!" Li Chang answered the signal, and the two brothers connected.

Jia Xu: "???"

Is that correct?

Did he mishear? Under normal circumstances, Liu Bei is clearly a wise and capable ruler!

What about wisdom today?

Li Chang pointed to the battle report, no longer having time to grieve for the people of Youzhou, and a smile appeared on his face:

"I didn't expect the East Route to go so smoothly; it's a pleasant surprise."

"On the central line, Helian has been blocked outside the old Dingxiang city by Xu Rong and Han Hao. They have been attacking for three days and haven't even touched the city wall."

There should be more good news when the battle reports come in the next couple of days!

"There's been a bit of an accident on the western front." Jia Xu got into work mode and picked up another battle report:

"General Yide ambushed Zhizhang's 30,000-strong army in the Yinshan Valley, killing 2,000 enemies, capturing 3,000, seizing a lot of cattle and sheep, and burning tents."

But the western front leader fled with the remaining 20,000 men, and even sent 10,000 of them to attack our side.

"This guy does have some brains." Li Chang looked at the map and marked the latest situation:

"He sent 10,000 troops to the interior to draw our attention so that he could focus on attacking Shaling City."

Shaling City is the gateway to the Hetao region. If it is lost, the Xiongnu who are heading north this year may join forces with the Xianbei.

At that time, they might also receive a steady stream of supplies from the Hetao region.

"Then what should we do?" Liu Bei asked. "Should we transfer Zilong over there?"

"That's enough." Li Chang nodded. "Zilong's cavalry are fast enough to make it in time to deal with them."

He picked up his pen and drew a circle on the map indicating the location of Shaling City: "Send an order to Zilong, instructing him to immediately lead his army north to block those ten thousand Xianbei people."

"Also, have Cheng Le's son, Zi Jing, on high alert at all times!"

"Alright." Liu Bei nodded, immediately wrote down the military order, and handed it to the messenger.

The messenger received the order and ran out.

Outside the window, the snow was still falling heavily, as if it were falling so earnestly.

……

Meanwhile, in Luoyang, a thousand miles away.

The nude swimming hall in Xiyuan has long lost its former revelry and sensual dances, replaced by a deathly silence and oppressive atmosphere.

The charcoal fire inside the hall was burning brightly, but it couldn't dispel the bone-chilling cold.

Liu Hong lay on the large dragon bed, not even in the mood to read Liu Huangshu's new work!

His face was sallow, his eyes were sunken, his lips were dry and cracked, and he was breathing heavily with every breath.

His chest heaved violently, as if it might stop at any moment.

"Cough cough... cough cough cough..."

A heart-wrenching cough struck, and Liu Hong suddenly arched his back, covering his mouth and coughing violently.

A large patch of glaring scarlet blood instantly stained the snow-white handkerchief.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please slow down!"

Zhang Rang quickly stepped forward and carefully patted his back, his face full of worry.

Zhao Zhong stood to the side holding the bowl of medicine, his eyes red-rimmed, and the spoon in his hand trembling.

These two powerful eunuchs, the heads of the Ten Attendants, had lost their usual arrogance.

They knew in their hearts that Liu Hong was their everything.

If the sky were to fall, they wouldn't survive either!

It took Liu Hong a long time to recover. He leaned against the soft pillow, panting heavily.

His eyes were unfocused, and his voice was so faint it was like a mosquito's buzz.

"Zhang Rang... tell me... am I nearing my end?"

"What nonsense is Your Majesty spouting!" Zhang Rang immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying:

"Your Majesty is blessed with great fortune; it's merely a minor cold, and you'll be fine in a few days!"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Zhao Zhong also knelt down, "the imperial physician said that as long as you rest and recuperate, you will recover soon."

Liu Hong twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a sickly smile.

Your own body, you know best.

The oil has run out and the lamp has burned out!

He waved his hand, signaling the two to stand up:

"Don't lie to me. I know my own body."

What I'm most worried about right now is the Han Dynasty, and also Xie'er and Bian'er.

When talking about his two sons, a glimmer of light finally appeared in Liu Hong's eyes.

Liu Bian was born to Empress He. He is thirteen years old this year and is timid and indecisive.

Liu Xie was born to Consort Wang. He is five years old this year, intelligent and quick-witted, and deeply loved by Liu Hong.

"Your Majesty wishes to..." Zhang Rang asked cautiously.

"Could Xie'er be made crown prince?" Liu Hong thought of his son.

Unfortunately... Liu Xie was too young, and his health was too poor!

Looking at history, many of the emperors before him died when they were only a few years or months old!

He was genuinely afraid that his son wouldn't live to adulthood!