Chapter 109: Did the military advisor open the map? Retribution will never be absent, betrayal at the moment of life and death!

Nothing at all!

What Xiao Fang was pointing to was a river system called Ju River, and there was nothing else.

"Military Advisor, what does this mean?"

Zhang Fei widened his eyes and looked at Xiao Fang blankly.

"If Liu Biao were to travel by land to Jiangling, he would have to pass through Jingmen and head south through Dangyang City."

"To the north of Dangyang City, there is the Ju River, which is the natural barrier of the city. If Liu Biao wants to pass through Dangyang, he must cross the Ju River."

"And there is a bridge built over the Ju River, named Dangyang Bridge, which is the only way for Liu Biao to cross the river!"

"If you can send light cavalry south to seize Dangyang Bridge first, you can block Liu Biao and the heroes of Xiangyang he has taken hostage at Changbanpo, north of the bridge."

"If the road ahead is cut off, the enemy's morale will collapse and they will be defeated without a fight."

"In this way, my lord, you can not only pursue Liu Biao, but also rescue the heroes of Xiangyang who are being held hostage by Liu Biao without harming any innocent people."

Xiao Fang took his time and presented the best of both worlds strategy.

Liu Bei suddenly realized what was going on and immediately showed a look of joy on his face. He praised loudly:
"Good, good, good, this is a very good plan, military advisor. This way, I can go after Liu Biao with all my strength."

The generals became excited again.

At this time.

Zhang Fei found something wrong, and squinted his eyes while lying on the map:

"Military Advisor, this Dangyang Bridge you mentioned is not drawn on the map. Is there really such a bridge?"

Liu Bei and everyone else looked back at the map and indeed, there was no mark on the existence of Dangyang Bridge.

Xiao Fang smiled and said lightly:
"As a counselor, you must know astronomy and geography."

"Just because Dangyang Bridge is not on the map doesn't mean it doesn't exist. My Lord, don't worry."

Hearing Xiao Fang's confidence, Liu Bei thought that he must have a plan in mind and stopped worrying.

Xu Shu, who was standing by, was amazed in his heart, with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

It is said that one should know everything about astronomy and geography, but there are only a handful of people in the world who can actually do it.

Even elders like Pang Degong, who had lived in Jingzhou for generations and were knowledgeable, never mentioned the Dangyang Bridge over the Ju River when they talked about the customs and geography of Jingzhou.

However, Xiao Fang knew the terrain of Dangyang so well that it seemed as if he knew every blade of grass, every brick and every tile.

"Military Advisor Xiao's mastery of the terrain of Jingzhou is beyond the reach of even the elders like Pang Degong. It is truly admirable..."

Xu Shu secretly admired in his heart.

Suddenly his eyes changed, he found another flaw, and said hurriedly:

"Military Advisor Xiao's plan is to seize Dangyang Bridge, but he still has to send light cavalry to go south via the land route. Isn't there still a risk of harming innocent people?"

Xiao Fang smiled and asked:
"Yuanzhi, think about it carefully. If we want to seize the Dangyang Bridge, do we really have to take the land route south?"

Xu Shu was stunned.

If he doesn't take the land route south, is it possible that he will fly over Liu Biao's head?
His eyes were suspicious, and his gaze fell back on the map, and suddenly a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

"Han River!"

"We can also take the Han River!"

Xu Shu blurted out, pointing at the map:
"Military Advisor Xiao must be planning to have General Liu use the navy to transport the light cavalry, first heading south along the Han River, then landing at Hanjin, and then turning back west along the Ju River."

"Water transport is faster than land marching, and light cavalry has the advantage of speed. These two advantages combined can offset the long detour."

"In this way, there is still a great chance to seize Dangyang Bridge!"

Xiao Fang nodded slightly, with a hint of approval in his eyes.

As expected, he is one of Shui Jing's most proud disciples. He understands things immediately.

Like his brother-in-law Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu's talent and qualifications are also top-notch, but his biggest shortcoming is that he is too young.

Historically, this group of people have achieved great success in their studies, and it would take at least ten years for them to come out and assist Lao Liu.

Now they are just beginning to show their potential and are still learning and growing. They need enough training and experience to grow into true kings.

However, Xiao Fang didn't mind giving Xu Shu more experience and training, just like he trained his brother-in-law, so that he could be like Zhuge Liang and stand on his own for Old Liu in advance.

"It is true that a good teacher produces good students. Yuanzhi's wisdom and insight are truly admirable."

Xiao Fang nodded in approval and gave Xu Shu a very high evaluation in public.

Xu Shu felt flattered and even a little frightened when he heard Xiao Fang say "admiration".

So he hurriedly bowed and said humbly:

"Military Advisor Xiao, you are too kind. I was just guessing randomly and was lucky to have guessed Military Advisor Xiao's strategy. I really don't deserve such an evaluation from Military Advisor Xiao."

Xiao Fang smiled and turned his gaze to Liu Bei:

"My lord, what Yuanzhi said is exactly what Fang meant."

"There is no time to lose. My Lord, please give the order immediately and mobilize the troops."

"Even if we can't stop Liu Biao in this battle, we must at least skin him alive and rescue all the heroes of Xiangyang who are being held hostage by him."

Liu Bei was greatly encouraged and immediately issued an order, ordering Zhang Xiu to lead 800 cavalrymen, and have Gan Ning lead the navy warships to transport them, and immediately go south downstream and head straight for Hanjin.

...

North of the Ju River is Changbanpo.

A team of more than 10,000 people was silently heading south.

The soldiers were dejected and their morale was low, and the civilians who were forced to move south were full of complaints.

"He actually resorted to force us to go south with force. It seems that Liu Jingsheng was really driven to the edge of desperation and resorted to such a desperate measure to push all the people to Liu Xuande's side."

Pang Degong looked at the Jingzhou army "escorting" outside the carriage and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

"Liu Biao's move really shows that he is in a state of panic. It's not just us. Even if we are forcibly relocated to Jiangling by him, we are still in Jiangling but our hearts are in Xiangyang." Sima Hui also shook his head and sighed, but suddenly changed the subject and lowered his voice and said:
"But don't worry, Brother Degong. Before I set off south, I asked Yuanzhi to ask for help from Lord Xuande and explain the pros and cons to him."

"I expect Xuande will not sit idly by and watch the heroes of Xiangyang being forced to move south by Liu Biao. The pursuers are probably not far behind them now."

Pang Degong's eyes lit up and he subconsciously looked back.

The next moment his eyes dimmed again and he sighed:

"If Lord Xuande sends a large army to pursue us, there will be chaos once the pursuing troops arrive."

"The swords are merciless, the soldiers are bloodthirsty, won't we also suffer?"

"Lord Xuande has always been kind and righteous. I think he will be cautious and will most likely give up chasing Liu Biao to avoid accidentally hurting us."

Sima Hui was silent.

After a while, he shook his head, smiled bitterly, and sighed:

"Brother Degong's words make sense. Given Lord Xuande's personality, he probably doesn't want to hurt innocent people. He can only sit back and watch Liu Biao take us to Jiangling."

Pang Degong could only sigh helplessly.

The front of the team.

Liu Biao and Kuai Yue were walking side by side at this moment.

"Yidu, we are leading so many noble families south, what if Liu Bei sends a light army to pursue us?"

"Don't forget, he has 800 Xiliang cavalrymen under his command. They can catch up with us in one day at most."

Liu Biao's tone and expression were tense, and he looked back from time to time, as if he was afraid of seeing the cavalry coming at him.

"Don't worry, my lord. I'm sure Liu Bei will not dare to send troops to pursue us."

Kuai Yue leisurely took a sip of the water in the bag with a confident sneer on his face.

Liu Biao was stunned, his eyes blank, and he didn't know where he got such confident judgment from.

"Liu Bei distributed land to refugees in Nanyang and reduced corvée duties. He treated all who came to him generously, regardless of their family background."

"Looking at his various actions, I concluded that he was the best at winning people's hearts with benevolence and righteousness."

"But this kindness is a double-edged sword. It can help him win the hearts of the people, but now it has become a burden to him."

"If he sends light cavalry to pursue, in the chaos of the battle, civilians will inevitably be injured, which will damage his reputation as a benevolent and righteous man."

"So I guess he would be afraid to send troops to pursue us in order to protect his reputation as a benevolent and righteous man. He can only let the lord retreat to Jiangling at ease."

With a sarcastic sneer on his face, Kuai Yue confidently analyzed Liu Bei.

The tension in Liu Biao's eyes disappeared, he no longer looked back to the north, stroked his beard and sneered:
"Yi Du's words make sense. Liu Bei is seeking fame and reputation for the sake of his so-called benevolence and righteousness, but he allowed me to retreat to Jiangling calmly and wait for me—"

Before the sarcastic remark is finished.

The soldiers on both sides suddenly became agitated and pointed towards the east and shouted.

Liu Biao and Kuai Yue were startled and looked towards the southeast at the same time.

On the other side of the Ju River, there seemed to be a cavalry force roaring along the northern bank.

cavalry?

It was Liu Bei's Xiliang cavalry.

Liu Biao and Kuai Yue were shocked and fear suddenly appeared on their faces.

"Why did Liu Bei's cavalry appear in front of us?"

"Different Dimensions, this, this..."

Liu Biao was so frightened that his voice began to tremble, and he was in a state of panic.

Kuai Yue's thoughts turned rapidly, his expression suddenly changed again, and he exclaimed:
"This must be Liu Bei's cavalry, going south along the Han River to Hanjin Ferry, and then rushing west along the Ju River, so that they can get ahead of us."

"He wants to seize Dangyang Bridge and cut us off north of Jushui!"

"This must be Xiao Fang's evil plan. Damn it! I never expected that he would come up with such a method to intercept us~~"

Kuai Yue was shocked and anxious, and was also in a state of panic.

Liu Biao felt as if he had been hit on the head with a blow. His body staggered and he almost fell off his horse.

Kuai Yue didn't care to savor the shame of having miscalculated again, and shouted anxiously:

"Don't worry about the large group of troops crossing the bridge. My lord, you must cross Dangyang Bridge as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the enemy cavalry seizes it, everything will be over!"

Liu Biao suddenly woke up, and hurriedly whipped his horse and galloped away.

He and his minister dragged a large group of people behind them and rushed across Dangyang Bridge first.

The troops behind sensed Liu's attack and immediately fell into chaos, then fled in panic.

The carriage carrying Liu Qi arrived at the north of Dangyang Bridge first.

When Wang Wei was about to drive across the bridge, Liu Qi in the car shouted and ordered him to stop.

"My Lord, the enemy cavalry will soon reach the bridgehead, we can't stop!"

Wang Wei had no choice but to stop the car and yell into the car.

Liu Qi jumped off the carriage with great effort and glanced to the south. He saw the cavalry rolling in and would arrive in a moment.

Looking back to the north, the eight thousand Jingzhou soldiers did not care about the Xiangyang civilians they were escorting. They threw away their weapons and armor and swarmed towards the bridge like frightened birds.

Mrs. Cai's carriage was in the front and was also heading towards Dangyang Bridge.

After Liu Qi looked up to the sky and let out a long sigh, his eyes were suddenly filled with cold determination.

So he took a deep breath, exerted all his strength, and shouted sternly:

"Set fire to this Dangyang Bridge! Burn it down!"

(End of this chapter)