In the north of Xu Prefecture, near the river.
At this moment, Liu Bei was alone here, completely disheartened.
His hair had been cut off, and so had his beard. His robe was scattered, and he had taken off his armor, leaving only his robe. He had also lost his warhorse, so he had to hide in the mud.
Thus, he escaped from the pursuers in this inhuman torture.
At this moment, the sun had set. It was dusk. The dim yellow light shone on his body. Although it was warm, Liu Bei felt very cold.
"2nd brother, 3rd brother, because of my mistake, I fell into Cao Cao's scheme and was separated.”
"Twenty thousand soldiers, an army never before seen in all these years, but they also suffered an unprecedented defeat.”
"Why is it so difficult for me to raise an army? Cao Mengde, Yuan Benchu, Yuan Gonglu…How could these people easily command an army of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands?!”
"I, Liu Xuande, have pursued benevolence and virtue all my life. I have never raped or plundered, nor have I used my power to bully others! But you ended up like this!"
"All in one go, destroyed in one day!! How pathetic, how pathetic! The Han rebels are at loggerheads! Wang Ye was not at peace! I, Liu Bei, am irreconcilable with Cao Cao!”
After saying that, Liu Bei, who was standing on the high cliff, planned to free-fall.
He committed suicide.
But a voice saved him.
"Ming Gong, wait."
Liu Bei's body shook, and his heart seemed to be pulled by someone. He staggered to stop his body.
Turning around to look for the source of the voice, he saw a man sitting on a warhorse. He was wearing a gray robe and had a goatee. He was twirling his beard with a faint smile on his face.
However, there was also some guilt in his smile.
"Xu Ziyuan, where are you from?"
Liu Bei asked blankly.
"My lord thought about it for a long time and felt that although we couldn't attack Xuchang, he asked me to come and meet you. Perhaps I could help you because your edict contained the injustice of the emperor and gave you a chance to attack Cao Cao.”
Liu Bei snorted coldly and turned to glance at the man.
Back when he was in Gaotang and on the plains, he had dealt with this person and knew that he was talented. However, he did not expect that after the Heaven Roll descended, he would be ranked 13th.
There had been ups and downs over the years, and the rankings had changed, but they had never been below twenty.
As such, this person's talent should be one of the few in the world. However, Liu Bei did not like his personality that much. He was a person who liked to be extravagant and not humble enough.
"In that case, Deacon Yuan is still a kind person.”
Liu Bei snorted coldly, causing Xu You to immediately cup his hands. He did not even know what had happened. After cupping his hands, he began to talk excitedly.
He praised Yuan Shao for being a wise ruler, but because he had delayed the opportunity, he later rewarded Xu You with 100 gold coins as an apology and even asked him to lead his troops here.
At the end, Liu Bei laughed.
" Hahaha…Haha!!!"
"Sir, what are you laughing at?" Xu You was stunned. The smile on his face disappeared, and his words of praise also stopped. He stared at Liu Bei in confusion, not understanding what was so funny.
"Yes, what's so funny? Oh right, where are your soldiers?"
"No."
Liu Bei said in a low voice.
"No more?"
Xu You was shocked and quickly cupped his hands." Imperial Uncle Liu, you mean that your 20,000 soldiers are all gone?”
"No more!"
At this moment, Liu Bei was truly disheartened. A few years ago, because of a small defeat, he was afraid that the soldiers would think that he was an incompetent master. Therefore, when the Heavenly List appeared, he immediately discussed with Jian Yong and placed the blame for this defeat on Xu Zhen, who was at the bottom.
Who knew that he seemed to have angered something. From then on, he had been homeless. Today, he was even defeated in Yangzhou.
Just like Yuan Shu, he had experienced the feeling of being a skeleton in a coffin.
They had actually been defeated in such a situation.
Regret!
Too late for regrets!
"It's gone. My brothers have been separated, and my soldiers have gone missing. How can I, Liu Bei, still have the face to live in this world! Brother, lend me your sword!"
Liu Bei strode down from the cliff and extended his hand to ask Xu You for the sword. Xu You knew that he had said something wrong and even blushed a little.
The words of praise for Yuan Shao weren't as important as the opportunity he had wasted. This was an opportunity that couldn't be bought back with ten thousand gold coins. As such, Cao Cao would definitely return to Xuchang and once again guard the vicinity of Guandu, waiting for the battle to begin.
The lord did not even have the chance to declare war and lost the chance to win.
This, this, this was a humiliation.
If Cao Cao knew about this, he would be laughed at by all the officials in Xuchang.
"Xuande, you must not die!"
Xu You reached out to stop Liu Bei and said solemnly," You are the Imperial Uncle of the Great Han Dynasty. There are not many royal relatives outside. Liu Jiyu of Yizhou, Liu Jingsheng of Jingzhou, and other than that, there is only you, Liu Xuande."”
When Liu Bei heard that Xu You could not even name himself, he could not help but feel bitter. How could he be compared to these people?
"I lost to Cao Cao in one battle. It was a crushing defeat. How can I make a comeback?”
Xu You quickly said," You have a brilliant theory and you once led troops to fight Cao Cao. Why don't you come to my master's place? You can definitely show your strength. In addition, the fate of your two brothers is unknown. If they know that you are dead, can they still live?" I heard that you guys are sworn brothers in the peach garden, and you've gone through thick and thin together.”
"This…"
Liu Bei's eyes flickered.
"Liu Bei heard that in a few years, my lord and Cao Cao will have a great battle. This battle will be unprecedented and the victor will become the ruler of the world and decide who will be the Great Han Dynasty's ruler.”
"If you can join my master, you can also establish an unparalleled martial art. Why not?!”
Liu Bei was stunned.
I still have a chance?
Yuan Shao had four generations of three dukes, and he had many capable men under him. He had many generals and warriors. After he defeated my eldest brother Gongsun Zan, he ruled over the four prefectures of Qing, Bing, You, and Ji, and he alone controlled more than half of the world.
If I can follow him, I might have a chance to find my second and third brother.
In the future, they could still rise up together. Could Yuan Benchu really defeat Cao Cao?
At this moment, Liu Bei's heart was still cold. He thought of Cao Cao's various strategies, the help of Xu Zhen and the others, and the many people around him who he had never seen before but were famous.
Yuan Benchu…
For some reason, Liu Bei had a very bad feeling, but at this moment, he seemed to have nowhere to go other than Yuan Shao.
"Sir, can you really persuade Yuan Benchu to take me in?”
Liu Bei's emotions gradually calmed down.
He had already lost too many times in his life, so he had a very high level of Inverse Shang.
A person who was never afraid of failure was extremely terrifying.
Xu You smiled relaxedly." Although my lord is occasionally ignorant, most of the time, he is still very wise. Moreover, once my lord becomes wise, he is also very comparable."”
At this point, Liu Bei slowly bent down and said,""Thank you, Brother Zi Yuan. If you can take in a defeated general like me, I will be extremely grateful.”
Xu You grabbed Liu Bei's hand and asked someone to bring him a warhorse. Then, he took his clothes, armor, and sword and brought Liu Bei along.
……
Jizhou.
Yuan Shao sent out a denunciation that spread all over the world. It was written by Chen Lin.
Within the four seas, the gentry immediately condemned Cao Cao's actions of controlling the Han Emperor.
It even led the Han officials in the royal court to gradually change.
At this moment, Cao Cao had just returned to Xuchang.
The soldiers and horses from all over the place were brought back. The autumn harvest was coming, and now was the time to rest and recuperate. Although Yuan Shao had issued a call to arms, he was currently only stationed in Liyang, and his soldiers were stationed in Guandu.
They did not have any intention of starting a war immediately.
However, it was enough for the various dukes to pay attention to the battle in the north. Moreover, this battle was probably not as simple as the battle in the north.
The north and south roads would fall into a mess.
Thus, Cao Cao was a little anxious by this order.
He had gathered the civil and military officials for several meetings and used the power of the School Affairs Office to monitor all the officials in Xudu.
He did not give them any chance to rebel.
After several discussions, the civil and military officials actually had differences on whether to fight or to make peace.
Many people thought that they could not fight, especially the old officials of the Han Dynasty and the officials of the royalists. They did not dare to fight with Yuan Shao. Cao Cao's land was not even half of Yuan Shao's.
The number of soldiers was less than half.
Even if Yuan Shao attacked, the Cao army had the geographical advantage, but it was still a disaster. Therefore, the officials who had just enjoyed a comfortable life prioritized the happiness of the people and did not want to use weapons.
Only Cao Cao's core advisors remained silent.
……
At this moment, in Xun Yu's mansion.
Xun You, Cheng Yu, Xi Zhicai, Guo Jia, Xu Zhen, and almost all of Cao Cao's advisors had come to visit.
Xun Yu was also complaining incessantly.
"Everyone, let's discuss whether to fight or to make peace first before going to the court to discuss with the officials. Otherwise, the court will be in chaos and it will be inconvenient to lead troops outside.”
Xun Yu also went straight to the point and made things clear.
Naturally, he was not willing to delay any longer. The court was debating endlessly. Moreover, Liu Bei's rebellion had just occurred this year. The south was not stable. If there was no conclusion or no determination to win, it would be difficult to resist.
"Yuan Shao has just defeated Gongsun Zan and annexed Youzhou. He has 100,000 soldiers and now has more than 700,000 lions. He has enough food and grass, and his army is in full swing.”
Xun You was the first to sigh." If we can win, I'm afraid we'll have to defeat the many with fewer forces. We can't do it all at once. But how can we stabilize the hearts of the scholar-bureaucrats?”
"It might work with strategy, but if the military strategy is appropriate, there is nothing to worry about. Everyone, isn't the Prime Minister a genius in the use of troops? He might not lose to Yuan Shao."
Guo Jia said calmly. He wasn't Cao Cao's advisor, but he had followed Xu Zhen here. He was Xu Zhen's advisor, so he spoke on behalf of Xu Zhen.
Xun You couldn't help but glance at him." Then, your opinion represents Xu Zhen's opinion. Can I say that?”
Xu Zhen took a sip of tea and sighed.”
As soon as he spoke, the rest of the advisors stopped their thoughts and looked at Xu Zhen.
Over the years, this strategist had created many miracles, and it was completely worthy of their respect.
"Bowen, now, what do you think?”
Xu Zhen carefully recalled. In addition, he had personally experienced the battlefield over the years. The Battle of Guandu was indeed a battle that determined victory.
However, this battle should have lasted for a full year, during which time the army had advanced and retreated many times.
After experiencing the chaotic battle between the immortals who had taken out their trump cards.
Later, Cao Cao found an opportunity to burn down Yuan Shao's granary and lead his army to raid his main tent, defeating Yuan Shao's army.
At this moment, it was still not considered a win.
The real victory was that after Yuan Shao was beaten back, he recruited those wavering aristocrats and then pursued the victory, gradually expanding the results of the battle.
In the end, they gathered the Guandu front line and defeated the Liyang garrison.
All kinds of suffering were definitely not as easy as in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where Yan Liang was killed, Wen Chou was killed, and the world was settled in one battle.
If they wanted to fight, there would be a lot of trouble.
Xu Zhen used all his thoughts and tried his best to guess. Then, he pointed at the map and said,""Everyone, please take a look."
"In this battle, Yuan Shao will march into Liyang while we will send troops to East County.”
"The land battle is at Guandukou, so naturally, we have to cross the river and fight on the water, which is Baima and Yanjin.”
"This is the main battlefield."
Xu Zhen analyzed seriously. At this moment, he was unquestionable.
At this moment, although his words had no basis, everyone present was a military strategist. After thinking about it for a moment, they knew that in the future, they would probably really have to do as Xu Zhen said and fight a decisive battle in Guandu.
As a result, they were gradually surprised.
After all, this was something that had yet to happen in the future. Xu Zhen was actually able to predict everything on paper.
Moreover, he was a Marquis with outstanding military achievements. This was not just a theory.
At this moment, Xu Zhen was really unrestrained and extraordinary in the eyes of many strategists, like an immortal.
Of course, Xu Zhen, who was seriously analyzing all of this, did not expect it at all.
"This is the situation of the battlefield, and the situation behind us is also very anxious.”
" Everyone, look." Xu Zhen pointed to the land outside the pass." Will the vassals outside the pass take the opportunity to enter the pass?" Invade Luoyang?"
"Ma Teng, Han Sui, and the others are all royalists. They have received the emperor's kindness for generations. This denunciation and the imperial edict will definitely make them hate the lord and enter the pass to fight.”
" Look here," Xu Zhen pointed at Jingzhou," Liu Jingsheng, known as the Eight Steeds of the World, Liu Hengjiang. He has 350,000 soldiers in Jingzhou and 50,000 in Wancheng. Will these soldiers attack our rear?”
" Look here." Xu Zhen pointed at Qingzhou." Lu Bu, after escaping to Qingzhou, he will definitely squeeze Kong Rong out and put down the rebellion himself. Qingzhou has no food and grass, and the land has almost been destroyed by the rebel soldiers. It will be difficult to farm. Yuan Shao might give food and grass to Lu Bu.”
" Look at this." Xu Zhen pointed to the east of the river." Look, Sun Ce of Lujiang has more than 20,000 troops. After the imperial court issued an edict, he was made a marquis and a general. He will definitely gain the support of the aristocratic families. I predict that he will advance by leaps and bounds within a year and gather countless troops. This line will lead straight to Xuchang."”
Xu Zhen drew out a route on the map. It was a combination of mountain roads and waterways, making it difficult to guard against.
"Moreover, Dong Cheng, who was given the title of Chariot Cavalry, still has five thousand soldiers in Xuchang…"
"How do we deal with these five places to ensure that we're safe?" Xu Zhen asked with a smile.”
Everyone was stunned.
Xun Yu is Xun You's uncle and nephew.
the old ruffian Cheng Yu.
Guo Jia…
Almost all of them knelt down and listened to the whole story.
There were actually so many of them?
They had naturally thought about these future troubles, but they were not as comprehensive as Xu Zhen, and they would always miss out on some details.
In truth, they would be surrounded by enemies from both sides. If they continued to fight like this…they would definitely suffer. At that time…
How to face all these things.
A genius, a genius from the heavens…Xu Zhen was so far-sighted, so why was he ranked last?
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