Chapter 381 Youzhou, I'm back. Where's Zilong? Wait a little longer. Let's take care of the Hulu together!

On the south bank of the Yishui River was the main camp of the Chu army.

Liu Bei was standing on the beach, looking at the Yijing fortress on the opposite bank from afar.

That barrier was built less than fifty steps from the shore, was three feet high, and had three layers inside and outside, all made of earth and stone.

In addition to the stone-built main city of Yijing, there are countless arrow towers, watchtowers, etc. on the walls that stretch for miles, forming a three-dimensional defense system.

Such a barrier is daunting just by looking at it from a distance.

"That was the city tower where Gongsun Bogui set himself on fire."

Liu Bei raised his hand and pointed at the towering main city tower on the opposite bank, with a hint of sadness in his tone.

After all, he and Gongsun Zan were both students of the great Confucian scholar Lu Zhi, and they had a deep friendship as classmates.

He was able to become the magistrate of Pingyuan because of Gongsun Zan's recommendation.

Although he rescued Kong Rong of Beihai first, and then went to rescue Xuzhou at the invitation of Tao Qian, and eventually parted ways with Gongsun Zan, the friendship between them remained in his heart.

When he heard the news that Gongsun Zan died in Yijing, he felt sad and regretful for a long time.

Now that he was in Yishui, he saw with his own eyes the place where his classmate died, which aroused his sadness.

"You can still see traces of fire on the tower. It was obviously built by Yuan Shang afterwards. It should be the place where Gongsun Zan set himself on fire."

Xiao Fang pointed his feather fan into the distance and speculated softly.

Liu Bei nodded slightly, but sighed:

"Bogui is a man of high righteousness. He has helped me. Unfortunately, for various reasons, I went to Xuzhou and was unable to fight alongside him."

"I really didn't expect that the White Horse Gongsun, who was so powerful outside the Great Wall and made all the Hu people tremble in fear, would end up setting himself on fire."

It was obvious from Old Liu's words that he felt deeply sorry for Gongsun Zan's ending.

"Gongsun Zan guarded the border and killed countless Hu people. He was indeed a meritorious minister and a rare famous general of the time."

"It's a pity that he has had too much luck in his life and has never suffered any setbacks. People like him are too proud and arrogant, and are most likely to be broken."

"So in the battle of Jie Bridge, he thought he had a sure win, but he didn't expect to be defeated by Yuan Shao, and even his most proud White Horse Volunteers were wiped out."

"This one battle left Gongsun Zan with a psychological trauma, and he lost his pride and self-confidence."

"As the leader of the three armies, how can you win if you don't have the confidence to win?"

"So he came up with the absurd idea of ​​building a fortress in Yijing, storing a million hu of grain and holding out to see how the world changes after a series of defeats."

"Gongsun Zan lost because he had a smooth life in the first half of his life. After he fell, he could never get up again."

“So, when you are young, it is not necessarily a bad thing to suffer a little loss.”

Xiao Fang's words revealed the root cause of Gongsun Zan's defeat.

Liu Bei seemed to understand something.

"My king, Gongsun Bogui is dead, so please don't feel sad for him."

"We have already killed Yuan Shao and forced his son to Yijing. If we can capture Yijing and kill Yuan Shang, wouldn't that be the same as avenging Gongsun Bogui?"

Zhang Fei, however, comforted him disapprovingly.

Liu Bei's heart trembled, as if reminded by Zhang Fei's words, and there was an extra layer of meaning in his eyes when he looked at Yi Jing again.

"Speaking of Gongsun Bogui, I think of Zilong."

Guan Yu suddenly spoke, stroking his beautiful beard and said:
"When Zilong followed the king, we went together to save Beihai and relieve the siege of Xuzhou."

"If it weren't for Brother Zilong's death, he wouldn't have returned to Hebei to attend the funeral. He would have probably continued to follow the king."

"Since Gongsun Bogui's defeat, there has been no news from Zilong, and now we don't know whether he is alive or dead."

Zilong.

Zhao Zilong of Changshan, once a subordinate of Gongsun Zan and one of the leaders of the White Horse Volunteers.

Guan Yu was moved by the scene and couldn't help but think of this old friend.

"Zilong is a man of unparalleled courage and righteousness, and his martial arts are unparalleled. He is truly a rare man in the world!"

When mentioning Zhao Yun, Liu Bei's eyes immediately lit up and he began to praise him highly.

Then he changed the subject and sighed:

"Since the war with Yuan Shao began, I have sent people back to Hebei several times to look for Zilong in Changshan, Zilong's hometown, but I have never found any trace of him."

"However, with Zilong's martial arts, as long as he doesn't die in the battle of Yijing, he will be able to keep his life safe."

"After I take over Yijing and recapture Youzhou, I will send more troops to search for Zilong carefully."

Just as Liu Bei and his two brothers were reminiscing about old times, Tian Fengshou rushed to the riverbank with a silk letter and a serious look on his face.

"Your Majesty, there is a secret letter from Youbeiping Tianchou."

"In his letter, he said that Wuhuan Chanyu Tadun had recently led 40,000 Wuhuan cavalrymen from the south of Liaoxi and was heading towards Yijing."

"Tian Chou speculated that Yuan Shang must have colluded with Tadun to attract the Wuhuan cavalry to come to Yijing to help in the battle!"

"So Tian Chou sent a messenger to deliver the letter first to warn the king."

Wuhuan?

Forty thousand cavalry?

These few words shocked everyone present.

Liu Bei's emotion turned into vigilance, and he hurriedly took the secret letter from Tian Feng.

"Yuan Shang, this villain, in order to be my enemy, did not hesitate to collude with the Wuhuan people and go deep into the heart of Hebei, all the way to Yishui..."

After looking at it for a few times, Liu Bei frowned and anger gradually rose in his eyes.

Zhang Fei immediately flew into a rage and started scolding Yuan Shang for colluding with the Hu people.

All the generals were indignant at the same time. "It's not surprising that Yuan Shang did this. Right now, the Youzhou rebels are everywhere, and there are heroes who are resisting his Yuan family everywhere. He has lost all his food and manpower."

"Without Youzhou's support, how could he possibly defend the Yijing defense line with his tens of thousands of troops?"

"Back then, Yuan Shao had offered a title and marriage to win over Tadun in order to attack Gongsun Zan from both north and south. Now, it is not surprising that Yuan Shang, in order to protect himself, has colluded with Tadun to lead the Wuhuan people into Hebei in large numbers."

"Like father, like son."

However, Xiao Fang smiled coldly and pointed out Yuan Shang's motive.

"What the Prime Minister said makes sense."

Tian Feng nodded slightly, but sighed:
"Back then, Yuan Shao made peace with the Wuhuan and abandoned Gongsun Zan's strategy of suppressing the Wuhuan. He allowed the Wuhuan to occupy and erode the border counties. I strongly opposed it."

"I have also warned Yuan Shao that the Hu people have evil ambitions. If we allow them to expand in Youzhou, they will sooner or later become a threat to the Han people."

"It is a pity that Yuan Shao was eager to go south to destroy Cao, and ignored my advice."

"Now Yuan Shang has gone even further. In order to put up a last-ditch effort, he even went so far as to lure the Wuhuan people from the border areas to the heart of Hebei!"

"The Wuhuan people do not engage in production. They will surely burn, kill, and plunder along the way south to supply their military needs."

"I'm afraid that the people of Youzhou will not be able to escape the cruelty of the Wuhuan people."

Liu Bei's heart shuddered, as a scene seemed to appear before his eyes: the Wuhuan cavalry passed by, and the people of Youzhou were left with their homes destroyed and their homes looted.

After all, Youzhou was his hometown. Now it was being trampled upon by the Wuhuan. How could he not be angry?

"Yuan Shang, this traitor, actually colluded with the Hu people and brought disaster to Youzhou. How despicable!"

"If I conquer Yijing, I will never be able to get rid of the hatred in my heart unless I kill him!"

Liu Bei pointed his whip at the other side of the Yishui River and swore bitterly.

Guan Yu was also angered and said:
"Your Majesty, if this is the case, then we must launch an attack on Yijing and kill Yuan Shang before the Wuhuan arrive!"

All the generals were suddenly reminded and angrily asked for a fight, wanting to attack Yijing quickly.

"Prime Minister, what do you think?"

Although Liu Bei was also furious, he still did not forget to ask Xiao Fang for his opinion.

After Xiao Fang pondered for a moment, he said:
"If our army were to attack Yijing now, we would certainly be able to take it, but I think we should wait a little longer."

Liu Bei was stunned. Xiao Fang's answer obviously surprised him.

Zhang Fei became anxious and shouted:

"Prime Minister, what are we waiting for? The Wuhuan will be here soon!"

All the generals nodded in agreement.

A strange look flashed across Xiao Fang's eyes, and he sneered:
"Yide, you are right. We just need to wait for the Wuhuan people to arrive."

Zhang Fei was confused.

Be it Liu Bei or Tian Feng, everyone was stunned.

If the Wuhuan people came, combined with the troops in Yuan Shang's hands, there would be nearly 70,000 infantry and cavalry!

In this case, wouldn't the difficulty of attacking Yijing be doubled?

Isn't this causing trouble for yourself?

Everyone was filled with question marks, unable to understand what Xiao Fang's intention was.

"The Wuhuan have already passed Youbeiping. Judging from their marching speed, they have probably already passed Yuyang and are not far from Zhuojun where Yijing is located."

"Then it is inevitable that the counties along the way in Youzhou will be ravaged by the Wuhuan. Even if we can defeat Yi Jing and kill Yuan Shang today, we will not have enough time to go north to stop the Wuhuan from wreaking havoc on Youzhou."

"Since sacrifice is inevitable, why don't we make the sacrifice of Youzhou's people more valuable? We can just wait for the Wuhuan to come to Yijing and then destroy them and Yuan Shang together!"

"In this way, Your Majesty not only destroyed the pseudo-Wei, but also severely damaged the main force of the Wuhuan, and solved the threat of the Wuhuan occupying the border areas and plundering the south at any time, causing trouble for Youzhou!"

Xiao Fang pointed his feather fan at the other side of the river and slowly explained his plan.

Liu Bei and everyone else's expressions brightened, and they suddenly realized and understood Xiao Fang's profound meaning.

"The Wuhuan people are entrenched in the northern part of Youzhou. If they are not eliminated, Youzhou will be in turmoil."

"Even if I kill Yuan Shang and destroy the pseudo-Wei, I will later use military force against the Wuhuan people to completely recapture Youzhou."

"But at that time, we would have to go on a long expedition to the bitter cold land of western Liaoning. Not only would the soldiers be very tired, but the long expedition would also give the Pseudo-Qin an opportunity to take advantage of us."

"Jinglue, what you mean is to take advantage of the Wuhuan people's rescue of Yuan Shang as an opportunity to annihilate their main cavalry at the Yishui River in one fell swoop?"

"In this way, I won't have to send troops on a long expedition in the future, and I can solve the border troubles in Youzhou in one fell swoop?
"This is a plan that kills two birds with one stone. Is this what you mean, Jinglue?"

As a king, Liu Bei had a vision that spanned the entire world, and only Cao Cao could be compared to him.

After hearing what Xiao Fang said, he immediately understood the interests involved.

Xiao Fang showed admiration and bowed, saying:

"Your Majesty is wise, this is exactly what I meant."

In history, after Cao Cao captured Youzhou, in order to solve the border problem, he led his army to the north to attack the Wuhuan.

In the Battle of Bailang Mountain, Zhang Liao killed Tadun in battle and helped Cao Cao defeat the Wuhuan cavalry in one fell swoop.

From then on, the Wuhuan people never recovered, completely lost their threat to Youzhou, and gradually disappeared.

Of course, later the Xianbei people replaced the ecological niche of the Wuhuan, rose in the northern border, and invaded again to threaten Youzhou, but that is another story.

As history has shown, now that the Wuhuan have come to the doorstep, Xiao Fang will naturally let Lao Liu take advantage of the situation and deal with this group of Hu people along the Yishui River.

"Well, Jing Lue is still far-sighted and thoughtful!"

Liu Bei's mind was immediately opened up, and he happily praised:
"Okay, just as Jinglue said, I will not rush to attack Yijing. I will wait for the Wuhuan people to arrive and destroy these barbarians and the remnants of Yuan Shang's pseudo-Wei together!"

(End of this chapter)