Chapter 347: The flag of the King of Chu is planted in Hebei! Liu Bei: I like that you guys are still thinking about killing each other when you are about to die!

Above the river.

Liu Bei was standing on the deck of the flagship with his sword in hand, looking down at the enemy situation at Liyang Ferry.

Inside the ferry, the Wei army was running around like headless flies, and their panic and confusion were clearly visible.

"Your Majesty, everything is just as Prime Minister Xiao expected!"

"Your Majesty, please look, there are only four or five thousand Wei troops in the ford, and they are extremely panicked and clearly unprepared."

"The Yuan brothers have fallen into the trap. Yuan Tan really didn't expect that the king really wanted to attack Liyang!"

Taishi Ci pointed at the enemy camp on the north bank, his face full of excitement.

Liu Bei nodded slightly, turned his gaze to Xiao Fang, and said with emotion:
"Although I don't know who gave Yuan Shang the advice to lure me into attacking the fake Qin."

"But now it seems that the man who gave advice to Yuan Shang is not even one tenth as good as Jing Lue, even if he is Sun Wu resurrected!"

Listening to Lao Liu's praise, Xiao Fang could only cough a few times, and smiled at the north bank with his feather fan:

"The Yuan brothers were killing each other, and Yuan Shang wanted to deal with Yuan Tan, so he transferred half of the Wei army in Liyang, which really helped us a lot."

"My lord, kill them on the north bank and make the Yuan brothers regret it."

Liu Bei's fighting spirit instantly exploded.

He drew his sword and pointed to the north bank:
"Pass on my order, all ships attack the ferry together, I will attack Hebei!"

Taishi Ci happily passed on the order.

On the flagship, the command flag fluttered like the wind.

The sound of trumpets and drums rang out like thunder.

Hundreds of Chu army warships, loaded with 70,000 high-spirited Chu troops, braved the wind and waves and rushed towards Liyang Ferry.

The Chu army's landing operation began.

At the Liyang ferry, the five thousand Wei soldiers were like frightened birds.

Before the Chu army attacked them, they began to retreat, planning how to disperse and escape back to Liyang City.

"Formation, the whole army, line up to meet the enemy!"

"Put up your weapons, everyone! Do not retreat even a single step! Do not let any enemy ship reach the ferry!"

Yuan Tan came back to his senses from his anger and had to face reality, drawing his sword and shouting.

He still held out hope that he could rely on his 5,000-plus soldiers to attack the Chu army halfway across the river and hold the defense line at the crossing.

"My Lord, it's useless. We can't defend the ferry."

"The Chu army is ten times larger than ours, and they caught us off guard. The soldiers are already in disarray, how can we possibly stop them?"

Guo Tu calmed down and immediately realized how critical the situation was.

Yuan Tan thought about it and it made sense, so he pointed his sword at Liyang City:

"Then transfer all the 10,000 soldiers in the city to me, gather all the existing forces, and defend the ferry to the death!"

"No matter what, we must not let the Chu army land on the north bank and surround our Liyang City!"

Guo Tu was so anxious that he was sweating all over his forehead and said with a bitter face:
"It's useless, young master. The army is already in disarray. Unless Chunyu Qiong's 15,000 soldiers are still there, even if we transfer the troops in the city, it will be a drop in the bucket."

"What's more, in this situation, we have no idea about the strength of the Chu army. What if Liu Bei has already crossed the Yanjin Ferry upstream and sent his cavalry ashore first to attack us from the side of Liyang?"

"After all my troops are deployed, the enemy will take advantage of the emptiness of Liyang and break into the city in one fell swoop. Wouldn't we be in a dilemma and be annihilated here in one fell swoop?"

Yuan Tan's body started to shudder, and he suddenly realized.

The last bit of hope vanished in an instant.

"You are right. Not only can we not defend the ferry, but we can also not defend the entire Yellow River defense line."

"Including Liyang City, all of them can't be defended."

"Immediately abandon Liyang and lead the army to retreat eastward to Pingyuan to meet up with Chunyu Qiong."

After Yuan Tan figured it out, he could only sigh helplessly and retracted his sword powerlessly.

Guo Tu was surprised.

He was trying to persuade Yuan Tan to give up the ferry, but he didn't expect Yuan Tan to give up so thoroughly that he even wanted to abandon Liyang City.

"My Lord, calm down."

"This Liyang City is the barrier of Hebei Province. Once it is occupied by Liu Bei, hundreds of thousands of Chu troops will be able to march straight into the heart of Hebei Province."

"By then, not only will Yuan Shang be finished, but all of us, and even our Great Wei Empire, will be finished too!"

"Besides, Chunyu Qiong may have defected to Yuan Shang. What if Chunyu Qiong refuses to take you in and refuses to let you in?"

"By then, Young Master, you have already lost Liyang, and it is impossible for you to go to Yecheng, and you cannot enter Pingyuan City either. Aren't you going to become a lonely ghost with nowhere to go?"

"These 10,000 or so frightened soldiers will scatter and flee in a few days. Young Master, you will be left without troops and territory. Aren't you pushing yourself to a dead end?"

Guo Tu sternly described a terrifying prospect for Yuan Tan.

Yuan Tan shuddered with fear, and his thought of abandoning the city and fleeing was instantly shattered.

"Gongze, you are right. Fortunately, you reminded me that Pingyuan is indeed not an option."

"I can't go to Yecheng. If I go there, Yuan Shang will kill me."

"Then tell me, what should I do?"

Yuan Tan was totally at a loss and his formation was in chaos. He could only helplessly ask Guo Tu for help.

Guo Tu rolled his eyes a few times, then turned back and pointed at Liyang City behind him:

"Liyang City is the strongest city in Hebei Province. There is sufficient food and grass in the city, and the walls are high and thick. Even if we have 15,000 soldiers and horses, we will definitely be able to hold it if we are determined to defend it."

"Tu thought that we should hold on to Liyang City and send troops to Yuan Shang for help. Given the importance of Liyang City, Yuan Shang will surely mobilize his entire army to come to the rescue."

"In this way, we can sit in Liyang City and watch Yuan Shang and Liu Bei fight each other, biting each other and consuming each other."

"When both of them are defeated, we can reap the benefits. Maybe we can repel Liu Bei and weaken Yuan Shang, and then the eldest son can take advantage of the situation to regain the throne." Guo Tu offered a plan.

At this time, his original intention in offering advice was still to resolve the conflict between the Yuan brothers.

When Yuan Tan heard that there was a chance to seize the throne from Yuan Shang, his eyes naturally lit up.

After a brief moment of contemplation and consideration, Yuan Tan gritted his teeth and shouted:
"I'll follow your plan. Pass on my order to abandon the ferry immediately and retreat to Liyang City!"

"Gather all the troops, defend Liyang, and watch Yuan Shang and Liu Bei fight to the death!"

Guo Tu breathed a sigh of relief.

The two of them immediately took five thousand frightened Wei soldiers, abandoned the ferry defense line, and rushed towards Liyang City in a hurry.

As soon as the Wei army left, the Chu army's warships rushed into the ferry.

Tens of thousands of Chu troops jumped off the boats like a tide and poured onto the Hebei land.

The ferry was deserted, and the Chu army easily planted the Chu flag on the north bank without bloodshed.

When Liu Bei's flagship docked and set foot on the land of Hebei, the soldiers who had landed were cheering and celebrating this easy victory.

"I didn't expect that the Yellow River defense line was so vulnerable. I was able to set foot in Hebei so easily!"

Liu Bei looked at the distant Liyang City and the vast Hebei Plain, his voice filled with emotion.

"Yuan Tan, in order to preserve his strength, naturally did not dare to fight to the death to stop our army. Moreover, with his small number of troops, he could not stop us."

"I predict that Yuan Tan will retreat to Liyang and wait for Yuan Shang to lead his army to come to his aid and fight to the death with the king, so that he can reap the benefits!"

Xiao Fang pointed his feather fan toward the north and sneered:
“Your Majesty, you can keep half of your troops here to besiege Liyang City, and send the other half north to seize Dangyin City in the north to block the main force of the Wei army led by Yuan Shang and prevent them from saving Liyang.”

“When the Wei army in the city learns that there is no hope for external aid, Liyang will already be an isolated city. Naturally, the morale of the people will collapse, and it will be defeated without a fight!”

Liu Bei nodded heavily and said happily:

"Okay, let's follow Jinglue's plan. While besieging Liyang, we will divide our forces to seize Dangyin City and cut off Yuan Tan's thoughts of seeking help!"

...

Yecheng, Wei Palace.

The palace was decorated with lights and colorful lanterns everywhere, creating an atmosphere of celebrating Yuan Shao's birthday.

Inside the hall, Yuan Shang studied the secret letter in his hand, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

That was the handwritten letter that Chunyu Qiong had just asked his son to deliver to him.

This should be considered a letter of loyalty.

Chunyu Qiong was extremely flattering in the letter. He expressed great gratitude to Yuan Shang for trusting him and the children of the Chunyu family. He also took the opportunity to criticize Yuan Tan's incompetence.

At the end of the letter, Chunyu Qiong made it clear that he would completely cut ties with Yuan Tan, unconditionally support Yuan Shang as the King of Wei, and obey Yuan Shang's orders.

"Zhongda, I feel that I am not as good as you in understanding people's hearts."

"As you expected, this Chunyu Zhongjian is indeed not loyal to my stupid elder brother."

"He obediently took half of Liyang's troops and went to Qingzhou to take up his post. He also wrote a letter to me expressing his loyalty."

"Zhongda, your plan to sow discord has succeeded."

Yuan Shang smiled and held up the letter in his hand, showing it to Sima Yi and the other counselors present, praising Sima Yi without reservation.

Sima Yi's mouth corners curled up secretly, but he bowed humbly:

"Yi is just a petty trick. The reason why Chunyu Qiong obeyed and sided with the king was because he was intimidated by the king's power."

Yuan Shang liked to hear this flattery and couldn't help laughing.

Tian Feng and Ju Shou looked at each other and shook their heads slightly, both remaining silent.

When Shen Pei saw Sima Yi praising Yuan Shang, he curled his lips, with a bit of displeasure and jealousy in his eyes.

After rolling his eyes a few times, Shen Pei bowed and smiled:

"Your Majesty, I have ordered that lights and decorations be hung everywhere inside and outside the palace to create a scene of celebrating the late king's birthday."

"If Yuan Tan has spies in Yecheng, they will think that the late king has awakened and really wants to summon him back for a reunion."

"I have made all the arrangements. If Yuan Tan dares to come back, he will be arrested and placed under house arrest immediately."

"I have already selected the person who will go to Liyang to take over his people."

Yuan Shang nodded with satisfaction and praised:

"Zhengnan, you are very careful and prudent. I can rest assured that you will do your job well."

Shen Pei was delighted to receive Yuan Shang's public praise, but he did not hide his pride at all.

Yuan Shang changed the subject and said:
"However, Guo Tu is quite cunning. He may be able to see that this is my plan. He is very likely to persuade Yuan Tan not to come to Yecheng."

"You must also prepare your troops. If he refuses to come, I will immediately lead my troops to Liyang to destroy him!"

Yuan Shang waved his hand, revealing his domineering side.

Shen Pei smiled and hurriedly bowed and said:
"Don't worry, my king. Our army is ready and waiting for your order—"

I haven't finished speaking yet.

The imperial guards rushed into the hall in a panic and knelt down in front of the steps.

"Your Majesty, the eldest son has sent an urgent message from Liyang asking for help!"

"Liu Bei led the main force of the Chu army and suddenly took the Yellow River to attack back to Liyang. Now he has attacked the north bank and intends to surround Liyang!"

"My Lord, please send troops to rescue Liyang City immediately!"

On the throne.

Yuan Shang, who had a domineering look on his face, was shaken violently and his expression changed drastically.

(End of this chapter)