Chapter 73 Deadlock

Outside Fancheng, Guan Yu is sitting in the tent and reading. Sun Shao sent him the Biography of the Spring and Autumn Zuo Family written by Zhang Zhao. He liked it very much. First, the scriptures annotated by Zhang Zhao were not known to him before. Now there are a lot of inventions and learning. Second, this book is copied by Sun Shao with superior Zuo Bo paper. The calligraphy is very beautiful, and the words are beaded and meticulous. It seems that you can imagine that Sun Shao copied it at the beginning. The respect at the time of writing is also ordered by Sun Shao. The style is very different from that of silk books and simple books, which is convenient and strong. Guan Feng said in his book that Sun Shao made a lot of efforts to copy this book. This is not so much a book as Sun Shao's filial piety. Guan Yu likes this book very much. It has become a habit to read a few pages a day, even in the army.

"Father." Guan Ping raised the curtain door and came in. Seeing that Guan Yu was reading, he looked a little hesitant.

"What's the matter?" Guan Yu didn't raise his eyelids. He held his beard in one hand and gently put the book on the desk in the other.

"Sun Lang sent someone to send the news that Yu Ban's 30,000 troops arrived in Xinye, and it was only three or five days away from Fancheng." Guan Ping said softly, "What should we... do?"

"What should I do?" Guan Yu glanced at him and tilted the corners of his mouth: "What do you want to do?"

Guan Ping doesn't dare to say that the army has besieged Fancheng for more than a month, and there is no sign of attack at all. Now Yu Jin has come with 30,000 horses, and the total strength has nearly doubled that of Guan Yu. At this time, if he doesn't withdraw, he will attack inside and outside. I'm afraid he can't leave even if he wants to. But listening to Guan Yu, it seemed that he didn't want to leave, but was ready to fight with Yu Ban.

"Father, Pan Chengming sent people to say that all the food and fodder around Jiangling and Jingling have been transported. Now he is rushing to the south of the Yangtze River, but it may be delayed for a period of time." He swallowed his saliva and carefully reminded, "There is only one month of food left in the army."

Guan Yu's face turned dark. What he had the most headache was this matter. If he didn't have enough troops, he could still rely on strategy, but if he didn't have enough food and pay, the army had no fighting spirit, and it was easy for the army to shake his heart. How could he fight this battle? He sighed and waved to Guan Ping, signaling him to sit down.

"Do you know why I didn't withdraw my troops?"

Guan Ping opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. He just shook his head.

"The lord was in Yizhou and was forced to advance and retreat by Cao Qian. Yizhou's difficulties were greater than mine. With Yizhou alone, the lord could no longer resist Cao Qian's offensive, so the lord asked me to attack Fancheng. The purpose was to force Cao Qian to retreat from Hanzhong and reduce the pressure on Yizhou. Now if I retreat, Yizhou will inevitably be lost, so what's the use of living alone? Guan Yu said calmly, as if he was talking about other people's affairs, not his own affairs: "So I can't retreat, no matter how difficult it is. What if Yu Ban comes? Piffle, you can be captured in one battle.

Guan Ping frowned, "What about the food and fodder?"

"Let Pan Chengming hurry up." Guan Yu raised his eyebrows and burst into murderous spirit: "Sen order Lu Fang and Shi Ren to be careful, otherwise I want their head."

Guan Ping sighed silently. If there is no food, there is no food. What's the use of you taking the heads of Lu Fang and Shi Ren at this time, and their heads can't become grain. He didn't dare to persuade him any more, so he had to stand up and leave.

"Wait, is there any news on the silver screen?" Guan Yu stopped Guan Ping.

"The news came from the merchant ship the day before yesterday that Fengxian had arrived at Qian Tangkou, was resting, and would soon join the war. At that time, maybe our pressure will be lighter.

"Alas, it's useless." Guan Yu sighed: "I didn't expect that Feng Xian was a capable general. In just one year, he calmed down the South China Sea and became a post-general. Unfortunately, he is a member of the Sun family."

Guan Ping didn't say anything. He knew what Guan Yu's subtext was. Unfortunately, Sun Shao was just a son-in-law, not a son. He has been used to being ignored by Guan Yu. Besides, it seems that he really can't be with Sun Shaobi, so he doesn't react too fiercely.

"You send someone to send a letter to the silver screen." Guan Yu muttered, "Let's see if she can get me some food to solve my urgent needs."

Guan Ping's eyes lit up, nodded quickly, and turned around and went out. Guan Yu picked up the book again, but he didn't read it. He thought about it with his eyes sideways. He curled the corners of his mouth and snorted disdainfully: "Yu Ban? Humph!"

...Sword Pavilion.

The front of the law was yellow, and he coughed from time to time. His health was not good, and the recent war was tense. Cao Jian personally took charge of the war in Hanzhong. The offensive was like a tide. Liu Bei's strength was not good. He was defeated in a row, and the rear was unstable. There were a lot of annoying things. He gave Liu Bei a bubble in a hurry, and he often got angry. In the whole camp, only he could speak in front of Liu Bei, so whether it was good news or bad news, he had to pass Liu Bei through him. One thing after another made him tired and sick. However, it was not the time to rest at this time. He had to drag the sick body to help Liu Bei deal with military affairs, which seemed to be getting worse day by day.

"Filial piety, are you better?" Liu Bei came in and forced a smile.

"Thank you for your concern. I'm better." Fa Zhengyan told a lie insincerely and sat up on the couch. Liu Bei caught up and pressed his shoulder: "Filial piety, you and I know each other, so we don't need these false gifts. You just lie down and let's talk."

Fa Zheng really couldn't get up. As soon as he moved, he was sweating all over his head. He had to lie down again and gasp for a while, and then reluctantly squeezed out a smile: "Is the lord worried about the war?"

Liu Bei smiled bitterly and patted his thigh: "Filial piety, how can I not worry? Cao Yan went all out this time. It seems that he will not stop taking Yizhou. Although the front is maintained in the area of the Sword Pavilion at present, our strength is not enough. If we delay for a period of time, I'm afraid that Yizhou will collapse without fighting. At that time, where can you be settled down? Do you think it's going south or west?

Fa Zheng did not answer immediately. He heard a strong depression from Liu Bei's words. Liu Bei had no confidence in the future. He was already thinking about the way out. He fought with Cao Hen all his life and was afraid of Cao Hen. If Cao Hen couldn't come, he would just face Xia Houyuan. Although the situation was still difficult, Liu Bei had no psychological disadvantage, but in the face of Cao Hen, Liu Bei had no confidence at all.

He and Cao Wei have never won. In fact, not only Liu Bei has no confidence, but also Fa Zheng now lacks confidence. It's just that in the face of Liu Bei, who has no confidence, he has to find enough reasons to give him up, otherwise Liu Bei may collapse directly.

"Lord, it's not only difficult for us now, but also for Cao Shen." Fa Zheng coughed twice and tried to make himself look confident: "Cao Shen fought on the third line and went all out. He transferred all his troops out, and the rear was empty. Did the lord forget that since Cao Yan became king, the loyal and righteous people have resisted endlessly. Last year, something big happened in Xu County. Now Cao Yan has transferred all his troops. How can he know that no one will take advantage of the situation? Once there is something wrong with Xu County or Yecheng, he will regret it.

Liu Bei smiled. Of course, he hoped that something would happen to Cao's rear, but such a thing is uncertain. Who knows if it will happen? Since Cao Yan welcomed the emperor to Xu County, the rebellion against Cao Yan has not stopped. He also participated in the imperial edict, but what was the result? Cao Shen was safe and sound. Instead, he took one opportunity to kill people one after another. In the past 20 years, all the people who opposed him died, but the more he lived, the more he became. I heard that he didn't even make a mistake.

"Sun Shao, why are you chasing the wind?" Liu Bei sighed for a long time.

Fa Zheng is a little ironic. If you can't beat Cao, you can't just point to Cao's head and die, can you? This is a little wishful thinking. However, when Liu Bei mentioned Sun Shao, he remembered: "Lord, is there any news about Sun Shao?"

"He?" Liu Bei was angry with Sun Shao. As soon as he mentioned it, he was unhappy: "It was the news that Deng Zhi brought back a few months ago that he had killed some pirate king in the South China Sea. Deng Zhi said that Sun Quan said that he had the merit of opening up the territory and wanted to make him a post-general. This vertical has only fought for a few years, and it turned out to be a post-general? Sun Quan is really young. If Sun Shao does any more contributions, let's see what he will seal.

The law is right without saying anything. What kind of credit can be greater than expanding the territory? He pondered for a moment and said slowly, "So, Sun Shao should return to Jianye to participate in the war. He is a sailor, and it is appropriate to deal with the Qingxu sailor. Jiangdong has been suppressed by the Qingxu navy recently, and it is difficult to do anything. Once Sun Shao can participate in the war, Jiangdong's offensive on the east line will become powerful, which should be a good thing for us.

Liu Bei, who was scratching, thought about it and thought it made sense. Since Sun Shao can defeat any pirate king, he should be sure to deal with Qingxu Shuishi. Moreover, Sun Shao's strength has grown so fast that Sun Quan should not let him develop freely in the South China Sea, and he will definitely withdraw it to the scope of control. He suddenly remembered Guan Yu. At the beginning, he decided to marry Guan Feng to Sun Shao because Sun Shao did not have the strength and would not form a threat with Guan Yu. However, now Sun Shao's army has suddenly emerged, and his strength has grown a little frighteningly fast. The original ideas have been failed. Now the eastern line relies on Sun Shao to defeat the Qingxu navy, and the middle line relies on Guan Yu to attack. Cao Ren, if you win this battle, the two sons-in-law have contributed the most, wouldn't it be a trouble?

Liu Bei was suddenly shocked. He looked at Fa Zheng. Fa Zheng's eyes flashed and his face was a little ugly. Obviously, he also thought of the same problem.

"General Guan is not strong enough. I'm afraid it's not easy to defeat Cao Ren." Fa Zheng suddenly gasped and said.

Liu Bei nodded. Now he is counting on Guan Yu to save his life. It's not the time to guard against him. Even if he knew there was this danger, he had no other better way. Besides, after all, Guan Yu has been his cronies for many years, so he should not go that far, right? He looked at Fa Zheng, who was sweating all over his head, and his heart ached. It's still that Fa Zheng is understanding, and he suddenly thought of going with him.

"Filial piety, take care of your illness at ease, and try your best to eat more." Liu Bei was a little excited for a moment and took Fa Zheng's hand and said. For so many years, in addition to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's two cronies, he has the most relationship with Fa Zheng. On the one hand, Fa Zheng was resourceful and helped him solve many problems. If it hadn't been Fa Zheng in those years, he would not have been able to take Yizhou at all. On the other hand, Fa Zheng's surname was very similar to him. He had kindness, revenge, no too many scruples, and no turban spirit. He was not like those sour and corrupt scholars. He thought he was a master after reading some books. First class.

"Thank you, Lord." Fa Zheng laughed miserably and said, "Your lord, the morale of the army is very important at this time. You are the heart of the army, and you should often go out and walk around. In those years, Emperor Gao was shot by Xiang Yu and had to go on patrol to boost morale. Now the lord should follow suit.

Liu Bei blushed and nodded repeatedly. He is in a bad mood these days. It's rare for him to go out to patrol. Most of the time, he hides in the tent to drink and play with women. He really has some intention of escaping. Don't worry, I'll go now."

Fa Zheng nodded, closed his eyes tiredly, and his chest, which was so thin that his ribs were clearly visible, heaved violently. Liu Bei's nose was sore and he shed tears secretly. He took a hand towel to wipe off the cold sweat on Fa Zheng's forehead, and covered Fa Zheng with a thin quilt. Then he quietly walked out. Wei Yan, the dental general, was waiting outside. As soon as he came out, he quickly followed.

"Wen Chang, let's go to the camp." Liu Bei said as he walked.

Wei Yan looked at Liu Bei with some surprise, and then he was refreshed, straightened his chest and shouted, "Look."

Liu Bei cheered up. He walked around the camp, checked the city defense, talked to the soldiers, and cheered them up. He looked confident. The morale that was originally a little depressed was done by him, and there were indeed a lot of improvements, and some spirits were restored one by one. Liu Bei was secretly ashamed. He cheered up more and more, and his voice became louder. He said loudly to the soldiers that Guan Yu was attacking Fancheng, and Cao Ren was about to take the lead. Jiangdong Sun Quan was fighting a bloody battle with Xiahou Dun, and the progress was going well. Finally, in order to increase persuasiveness, he said that Sun Shao, who had just defeated the pirates in the South China Sea, is now with a strong The big sailors had rushed to Jianye and defeated the Qingxu sailors to the army. Jiangdong would soon turn to take the initiative to attack, and Cao Jian would soon be unable to support him. Please wait patiently for a few days, and then drive Cao Jian out of Hanzhong, and he will definitely be rewarded for his achievements.

The soldiers didn't know whether it was true or not. When they saw Liu Bei's words, they believed the truth one by one, angered each other, and imagined a better future. Liu Bei walked around and returned to the camp. Then he took off the smile on his face, sat on the marching couch, picked up a glass of water, drank the bottom of the sky, put the cup on the case, looked at Wei Yan, and turned his eyes: "Wen Chang, do you believe that we can win?"

Wei Yan thought for a moment and nodded heavily: "I can win."

"Are you so confident?" Liu Bei's excited mood had not completely dissipated, and he looked at Wei Yan with a few smiles. Wei Yan straightened his chest and said loudly, "Cao Yan's strongest horse is the cavalry, but when he arrived in Ba County, his cavalry lost its function. At the beginning, he got Hanzhong from Zhang Lu because of Zhang Lu's negligence, which made him take advantage of it. The reason why he was able to hit the Sword Pavilion this time was that on the one hand, he had a lot of troops, and on the other hand, we underestimated Cao Zhi and was sneaked by him.

Liu Bei's eyes flashed and nodded. He also thought about the gains and losses of himself and Cao Yan, but he always felt unnaturally that it was because his military level was not as good as Cao Jian, and he rarely analyzed like Wei Yan. Now it seems that what Wei Yan said is indeed reasonable. At the beginning, Cao Wei attacked Hanzhong, and it was said that it was a mistake. And this time, the reason why he was passive was ultimately because Zhang Fei was cut off by Cao Zhi. Who would have thought that Cao Zhi, a scholar, would dare to attack in the mountains with more than 300 people? Thinking of this, Liu Bei was in a cold sweat. If it hadn't been for Cao Zhi's unfamiliarity with the terrain, it wouldn't have been the problem of Zhang Fei's grain road being cut off. Maybe the Sword Pavilion had been attacked by him.

This vertical, like Cao Jian, is too insidious to use soldiers. At the thought of his son, Liu Bei was a little unhappy. Cao is better than himself. Why are his sons better than his own? At the thought of Liu Chan's appearance, Liu Bei had a black line in his head.

"Master..." Wei Yan saw that Liu Bei was silent, so he gently reminded him.

"Ah, go on." Liu Bei smiled and raised his hand to signal Wei Yan to sit down. Wei Yan arched his hand and didn't dare to sit down. He looked at Liu Bei's eyes and continued, "Master, I thought if I wanted to break the deadlock in front of me, I would have a strange soldier."

"Wond Soldier?" Liu Bei raised his eyelids and looked at Wei Yan: "Why are there strange soldiers?"

Wei Yan strode to the map behind Liu Bei: "Cao Zhi can sneak up on us, why can't we sneak up on them? Xiahou Yuan's army went deep and refused hundreds of miles with the rear and Cao Xun. Why didn't we have a strange soldier to go around the back of Xiahouyuan and also cut off his grain path? If the army had no food, it would be chaotic. At that time, he would be defeated without fighting. Couldn't we turn defeat and win?

Liu Bei's eyes lit up and nodded repeatedly. He touched his bare chin and thought for a moment. He turned around and took Wei Yan to Fa Zheng's tent. He told Fa Zheng about Wei Yan's advice, and Fa Zheng also thought it was feasible. After discussion, he ordered Huang Zhong, the captive general, to lead 2,000 people out of the sword pavilion to sneak attack. Wei Yan was the person who made suggestions, and also asked him to take 300 white-eared soldiers to attack with him. The white-eared soldiers were the most elite guard battalion under Liu Bei. First, they were led by Zhao Yun, then led by Chen Dao, and now they were personally commanded by Liu Bei. Wei Yan was a dental general. He The people and horses are subordinate to the white-eared soldiers.

Huang Zhong and Wei Yan received orders to prepare food and ordnance, and immediately leave the camp. The news was in the mountains.

... Langzhong, the battalion of Cao's army outside the city.

The new Pingnan Zhonglang General Cao Zhi and Prime Minister Yang Xiu are sitting opposite each other and playing chess. Cao Zhi pressed forward step by step, and the strange soldiers came out one after another, while Yang Xiu became a battalion step by step, both offensive and defensive. Cao Zhi couldn't find a way to defeat the enemy for a while. He stopped in mid-air with the chess pieces in his hand and was thinking about it. Suddenly, he felt a burst of palpitations, his fingers trembled, and the chess pieces fell on the chessboard with a bang, making the chess game a little messy.

"General?" Yang Xiu was just about to laugh, but he found that Cao Zhi's face was wrong. He hurriedly asked with concern, "What's wrong with you? Is it an injury again?

Cao Zhi was injured in the battle of the sneak attack on the Sword Pavilion a month ago. He has not fully recovered yet. As soon as he hurts, his face turned pale and sweated. But this time it wasn't. He just felt a little trance and had a strong uneasiness.

"I feel like something is going to happen." Cao Zhi took a deep breath and looked at Yang Xiu worriedly. Yang Xiu frowned and thought for a moment: "Is there something wrong with General Zhengxi?"

"Why is it General Zhengxi?" Cao Zhi was a little puzzled, "Why not us?"

(to be continued)