Chapter 506 Using one’s body as bait
Dai County, Chanhe Pond.

As the sky grew brighter and the morning drum sounded, the night curfew was over.

Zhao Yun came to see Liu Bei with the night patrol order and found that Liu Bei couldn't sleep at night and was beating the ground with a wooden paddle made by the camp. The floor in the tent had already been cleaned by the soldiers.

Now Liu Bei sprinkled water on them and clapped them neatly with a wooden paddle. Zhao Yun also knew that this was just a trick to kill time and divert attention.

Seeing Zhao Yun going to look at the ground, Liu Bei was about to speak when he heard heavy footsteps outside.

Zhao Yun also turned around and looked sideways, and saw Chen Dao leading Tian Yu to the tent door. Behind Tian Yu were several captains and a panting messenger.

Zhao Yun made eye contact with Chen Dao and took half a step back.

The sword that was normally hanging cross-body behind his waist was held steady by his left hand, and his right hand hung down to hold the token tightly.

Liu Bei asked Tian Yu who came in, "What does Guo Rang want?"

"Mingsir, the guards at Daoma Pass have reported that the Grand Marshal crossed the Daoma River yesterday and headed straight for Liangxiang along the main road, but did not go to Fanyang."

Tian Yu looked relieved as he spoke. Fan Yang was closer to Daomaguan.

As long as the two sides don't meet and reach any secret agreement, everything will not be out of control.

Liu Bei stretched out his hand, Tian Yu quickly took the document from the messenger and handed it to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei opened the mud seal, took out the military document and read it, then asked, "Who is the magistrate of Liangxiang?"

Liu Fang, the attendant on duty inside the tent, stood up and said, "My Lord, it's Yuyang Yimen Sheng."

"He."

Liu Bei sat back down and looked Tian Yu up and down. "Does Guo Rang want to stay with me in Daidi, or return to Youzhou and apologize to the Grand Marshal on my behalf?"

Tian Yu wanted to agree immediately, but Liu Bei looked tired. Past scenes flashed through his mind, but he thought of Xianyu Fu, Tian Chou, Yan Rou, his own guests and followers, and the long-term future. He hesitated and said, "My lord, please wait in Dai. I will go to fetch the Grand Marshal."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Guo Rang. Grand Marshal is young and full of vigor, so I'll apologize in a nice way. When Grand Marshal arrives at Chanhe Pond, I'll come out of the camp and apologize."

Liu Bei stretched out his right hand as he spoke. Tian Yu hesitated and stepped forward, but Liu Bei grabbed his wrist tightly and shook it vigorously.

Tian Yu didn't dare to look at him and simply closed his eyes.

Seeing this, Liu Bei let go, turned to Liu Fang and said, "Get some pen and ink. I want to write a letter of apology myself."

"Here."

Liu Fangke and Liu Bei were from the same county, so he turned around and went to do it immediately.

Liu Bei also stood up and walked over, but suddenly his steps weakened and he stumbled. Tian Yu hurriedly stepped forward to support him, but was pushed away by Liu Bei.

Tian Yu took two steps back and stood with his hands behind his back.

The three captains who came with him were already being stared at by Zhao Yun. Chen Dao, who had retreated to the tent door, also had his right hand behind his waist under his cloak, where there was a pair of meteor hammers.

Soon, Liu Bei wrote a letter of apology, stating what happened before and after, and expressing his concerns about going through Feihukou.

Then he asked Liu Fang to seal it and stamp it. After it was finished, Liu Fang handed it to Tian Yu.

The two men made eye contact, Liu Fang had no expression on his face, but Tian Yu understood.

Soon Tian Yu and his men left the tent, and Liu Bei said to Zhao Yun, "Zilong, come and have dinner with me."

"Here."

Liu Bei did not say a word during the meal, but he had a poor appetite and barely ate a bowl of millet rice.

Zhao Yun's appetite did not decrease. Seeing Zhao Yun's calmness, Liu Bei felt relieved and said, "Yide was drunk and whipped the officers yesterday. When he sobers up, Zilong will go and comfort Yide on my behalf."

"Yes."

Zhao Yun agreed, stood up and accompanied the others to send Liu Bei back to the tight and thick barracks beside the big tent to sleep.

After the door was closed, Zhao Yun told Chen Dao before leaving: "My lord, you are tired, and don't let trivial matters bother you."

"Don't worry, General. This is my duty."

Chen Dao also bowed and walked Zhao Yun a few steps forward, and the two parted in silence.

Zhao Yun left the central army camp, mounted his white horse, and led a dozen cavalrymen back to his own small camp.

He first checked the military tents one by one, and saw that the soldiers in the tents were sitting in armor. Except for the soldiers who were enforcing the night curfew with him, all the others were sitting quietly. He couldn't help but feel relieved.

Tian Yu returned to his own camp, immediately selected elite warriors and strong cavalry, and crossed the camp to Xianyu Fu's camp.

When he arrived, Xian Yufu was feeding the horses in the stables. Through the fence, Tian Yu said to Xian Yufu, "Lord Xuande has decided to stay in Dai County and observe the changes in the situation. If the Grand Marshal retreats to Dai County from Juyongkou, Lord Xuande will come out of the camp to apologize."

This is the bottom line. I can watch you guys fight, but I won't fight with that Grand Marshal. This is not something Liu Bei can decide on his own. As for Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun, they are obstacles.

Being able to remain neutral and not stop them is already a sign of friendship with our fellow villagers.

"Juyongkou?"

Xian Yufu stopped digging for horse feed with his right hand, patted his sleeves for the grass and broken steamed wheat residue, walked to the fence and said to Tian Yu: "Guorang, go with peace of mind."

"Don't get into a conflict with Zhang Yide. He is straightforward and no one can stop him when he gets angry."

"it is good."

Xian Yu Fu gave a brief reply, then watched Tian Yu turn around and leave alone, then mounted his horse and left the camp.

With a frown, Xian Yu Fu looked at the camp gate for a moment, then raised his head to look at the azure blue sky and sighed softly.

At this moment, the gate of Liangxiang County was wide open, and the county magistrate Yi Mensheng was waiting on the roadside in a brand new black official uniform and a Jinxian crown on his head, with a hot wine barrel next to him.

In the distance, the knights from the Blue and Red camps were advancing slowly.

In front of these two battalions of elite cavalry were Zhang Liao and more than a hundred personal guards. After arriving, Zhang Liao dismounted and saw about three hundred county officials, well-dressed people, young scholars, and civilians.

He examined Yimen Sheng: "Remove the wine and water. The Grand Marshal has no intention of entering the city. Buy more food and fodder, and the shogunate will reduce the market price."

"This... the elders of this county admire the Grand Marshal very much. How can we let him camp outside the city?"

"The Grand Marshal has always been simple and frugal, and doesn't like extravagance."

Zhang Liao took out a stack of papers and handed them over: "This is the purchase document. Don't delay. Go and do it."

"Your Majesty, take your orders."

Yi Mensheng took the paper, opened it, read it, and handed it to the county magistrate to discuss it with the local wealthy families on the spot. He then stepped forward and asked, "May I ask the general's name?"

"Zhang Liao of Yanmen."

After Zhang Liao finished speaking, he turned around, took a few steps, jumped on his horse, took the iron halberd handed to him by his personal guard, and swung it forward.

More than a hundred knights gathered and passed in front of Yi Mensheng, and smoke and dust immediately filled the air. They were followed by the elite cavalry from the Blue and Red Camps.

Behind them was the central army surrounded by black flag knights, and behind them were two battalions of charioteers. Many of the chariots were empty, so they could move easily.

Behind the chariot camp were the scattered Yellow Flag Knights, each team of fifty driving the reserve war horses that accompanied the army. Each team drove more than a hundred good horses.

At the very end was the White Flag Knight Battalion, which was divided into three parts and took turns to support the retreat.

Some of the nearby powerful men or knights had already driven their horses to a distance to watch and observe the marching order of the Grand Marshal's troops, and they were all filled with admiration.

Especially with so many spare horses accompanying the army, even the people of Youzhou, where the price of horses was not high, realized that this was a huge fortune.

When Black Bear arrived about ten miles south of Liangxiang County, Zhang Liao had already commanded the cavalry from the Green and Red Battalions to start cutting down trees.

Black Bear led Zhang Liao and the core military officers on horseback, wearing ordinary armor, to go out for patrol and reconnaissance. Soon they arrived at a hill more than ten miles northwest of the city.

They looked into the distance together, and Black Bear pointed his whip diagonally to the southeast: "Yuan Xi is in Fanyang, less than a hundred miles away from us. Our scouts have arrived outside Fanyang City, and no Yuan troops have been seen blocking us."

Zhang Liao observed, "Your Majesty, I think Liangxiang is not suitable for a large-scale war. We should either march north to Juyongkou or divide our troops and station them in Jixian. We can get the military supplies and equipment stationed by Liu Zhenbei, and with the manpower of Guangyang County, we can get thousands of servants overnight."

It is necessary to quickly establish a servant auxiliary army to free the main elite troops from heavy physical labor.

Black Bear looked around and said, "Don't worry. If I walk fast, Yuan Shang might retreat. He was scared when I kidnapped his brothers outside Yecheng. The only way to hurt him is to lure him out and make him travel a long way."

The terrain here is indeed not suitable for large-scale military formations.

We need to choose a flat, open battlefield suitable for Yuan Shang where he can give full play to the numerical advantage of his troops.

Only with a broad vision can one accurately remotely control the army to carry out cutting and strangling on the battlefield.

The biggest advantage of the Hebei Army was that they had never seen Lu Bu's attack on the battlefield.

The Yuan family of Hebei is highly expected by all parties. Only by hurting the Yuan family and making them roll on the ground holding their bellies can the stability in Shu be maintained.

It can also indirectly stabilize the battlefield in Jingzhou... As for sending troops to Jingzhou to assist in the war, he can send troops, but his bottom line is about 5,000.

He hated the dampness and heat in Jingzhou. The further south he went, the stronger the dampness, heat, miasma and epidemic became.

The larger the scale of the Northern troops’ participation in the war, the more likely it is that a major plague will break out.

Just wait and see, reorganize Jingzhou during the war, and let the people of Jingzhou fight on their own.

(End of this chapter)