Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

However, the nearly one hundred thousand Jingzhou soldiers marching along the plank road were like a long snake caught in a hunter's trap.

Yet, in the terrain carefully chosen by Liu Yan, this "long snake" could only writhe, struggle, and hiss…

At this moment, the advantage of the terrain was magnified to the extreme.

Countless Jingzhou soldiers either tried to hide, but all they saw were casualties, with nowhere to conceal themselves; or they displayed the courage of a commoner willing to die together, holding long spears, but unable to reach the enemies on the mountain walls; or they wailed and begged for mercy, injured and falling to the ground, only to be trampled into minced meat by their companions.

The cruelty of war was on full display.

Some Yizhou soldiers on the mountain walls, constantly attacking, witnessed such a tragic scene, and many couldn't bear it or couldn't help but vomit.

If there was any place that could be considered a haven in that nearly ten-mile-long stretch of cruel hell, it was where the group of personal guards protecting Liu Biao retreated.

Under Liu Yan's orders, the attacks launched by the Yizhou soldiers, taking advantage of the terrain, all bypassed Liu Biao.

Even though Liu Yan believed that the jade seal was more likely to be carried on Liu Biao's person, rather than entrusting such an item to others or storing it elsewhere for safekeeping.

However, Liu Yan dared not gamble, nor did he want to gamble.

Jingzhou and the jade seal were both things that Liu Yan craved.

Liu Yan wanted both!

Moreover, Liu Yan was not in a hurry at all. The distance from here to the border of Jingzhou was nearly four hundred miles, and it was mostly plank roads that were undulating, narrow, and difficult to travel.

More importantly, the Yu Fu City and Wei Pass, which had previously surrendered to Liu Biao, were actually Liu Yan's true confidants.

Even if Liu Biao had the ability to lead the remnant army to flee four hundred miles back to the vicinity of Wei Pass, as long as Yu Fu City and Wei Pass were guarded, Liu Biao would still be a dying fish struggling in vain.

And the ambush from the mountain walls, deliberately avoiding Liu Biao's location, was also noticed by many astute Jingzhou soldiers.

Driven by the instinct to survive, without Liu Biao issuing orders, a large number of Jingzhou soldiers subconsciously gathered around Liu Biao, constantly fleeing towards the rear.

The cries echoing in the valley, contrasting with Liu Biao's pale and deep face, made Liu Biao's heart even more unwilling.

The high spirits and confidence when he came were now replaced by the appearance of a stray dog.

However, Liu Biao still retained a glimmer of hope in his heart, hoping to use the jade seal to threaten Liu Yan and then escape back to Jingzhou.

As long as he could reach there…

As long as he could return to Jingzhou, then there was still hope!

Even Liu Biao had already had a preliminary idea of how to break the situation after returning to Jingzhou.

With nearly one hundred thousand Jingzhou troops lost here, it was unlikely that Liu Biao could even keep Jingzhou, let alone the jade seal.

'After returning to Jingzhou, I will throw out Xiangyang and the jade seal, and I will temporarily retreat to Jiangxia County and fully manage the four counties of Southern Jing…'

'After recovering some vitality, I will find a way to seek an opportunity to turn the tables while Yuan Shu, Liu Bei, and Liu Yan are tearing each other apart!'

In such a low ebb, Liu Biao's mind was in an unprecedentedly clear state, and he found a way to break the situation.

Wait…

Suddenly, Liu Biao, who was fleeing in a hurry, stopped and his eyes widened.

Find a way to let Yuan Shu, Liu Bei, and Liu Yan tear each other apart for Xiangyang and the jade seal?

This made Liu Biao suddenly remember the meaning expressed by Liu Bei when he sent an envoy before, which Liu Biao had always been puzzled about.

But combined with the current situation, Liu Biao suddenly had a feeling that Liu Bei seemed to have expected this, expected that he would definitely have this defeat, and expected that he would personally beg and invite Liu Bei to enter the stage.

In this way, in the eyes of the world, among Yuan Shu, Liu Yan, and Liu Bei, Liu Bei undoubtedly stood out as acting righteously to restore order, rather than purely inciting war for personal gain like Yuan Shu and Liu Yan.

'Liu Xuande…'

'No, Marquis Guoshi! Is this the person who has dominated an era with the name of strategy? Could it be that he judged Liu Yan's treacherous plan based on some information, and even guessed that I would fall to this point.'

'Even, he regarded me as a pawn, a pawn that allowed me, the governor of Jingzhou, to personally invite Liu Xuande to enter Jingzhou…'

For no reason, a pair of deep and distant eyes appeared in Liu Biao's mind, eyes that seemed to have seen through everything long ago.

Even though Liu Biao had never seen Li Ji in person in his life, at this moment, he felt that Li Ji's eyes might be like this, and while chatting and laughing in Chaisang thousands of miles away, he was watching the direction of the Yi-Jing war…

Suddenly, another shrill cry made Liu Biao, whose thoughts were unconsciously diverging, come back to his senses, and he quickly moved his legs again and continued to flee under the cover of a group of personal guards.

Even if those were just guesses that flashed in Liu Biao's mind, and there was no more evidence at all, Liu Biao vaguely determined that this was the idea of Li Ji, who had been sitting in Chaisang watching the situation.

It's just that Liu Biao also knew that even so, he would have to invite Liu Bei to enter the stage after returning to Jingzhou.

Perhaps Liu Biao didn't understand the Pythagorean theorem, but he also knew that the most stable relationship was a triangular relationship.

Only when the three parties check and balance each other can one party quickly dominate Jingzhou and seize the jade seal.

Only by allowing Yuan Shu, Liu Yan, and Liu Bei to constantly engage in melee battles centered on Xiangyang can Liu Biao, who has retreated to Jiangxia County and the four counties of Southern Jing to restore some vitality, have the opportunity to take chestnuts from the fire and make a comeback.

At this thought, Liu Biao didn't have time to continue to think carefully, and continued to flee towards the rear in this chaos.

And under the instinctive desire to survive, many Jingzhou soldiers also realized that the area where Liu Biao was located was a rare safe place.

Therefore, in the process of Liu Biao constantly fleeing backwards, there were also many Jingzhou soldiers who instinctively gathered around Liu Biao.

It's just that the narrow terrain in the valley destined that only a snake-like formation would be formed.

Even if they approached Liu Biao, how many people could get close to Liu Biao?

On the contrary, the constantly gathering crowd constantly increased the killing efficiency of the ambush, and even greatly hindered Liu Biao's speed of escape.

Seeing that the speed was getting slower and slower, Liu Biao ordered fiercely.

"Kill those who block the way!"

Immediately, those personal guards who had received great kindness from Liu Biao and were willing to die for him directly drew their swords and killed the Jingzhou soldiers who were blocking the way and squeezing towards Liu Biao.

This was also like a fuse, completely collapsing the already desperate and tense nerves of the Jingzhou soldiers, and there were not a few who drew their swords and fought against their colleagues.

Some crazy Jingzhou soldiers even directly attacked Liu Biao with weapons, intending to die with Liu Biao.

This made Liu Biao both surprised and angry, and he had to continue to urge the personal guards to clear the way.

It was not until Liu Biao, who had always paid attention to the demeanor of a famous scholar, lost his shoes, dropped his hair crown, and took off his long shirt in embarrassment, that he retreated to the entrance of the valley blocked by boulders.

(End of this chapter)