Three Kingdoms

It’s autumn in the fourth year of Taixing.

Within the territory of Jiaozhou.

The sky is clear, the air is quiet and dull, and the white clouds are floating slightly. I don't know if I want to escape, or if I just don't want to be stained with blood...

The rugged mountain road spreads and disappears into the dense forest at the foot of the mountain. This is a mountain road opened by the army. It is impossible to test the original shape. Anyway, it has now become the shape needed for Liu Bei and others to pass.

On the slope in front of the mountain road, the soldiers lined up neatly, holding swords in their hands and pointing their spears diagonally forward. The red and black flags were raised high and the battle lines were lined up.

Liu Bei raised his head and seemed to be looking at the red and black Han Dynasty war flag, and also seemed to be looking at the bright sky.

In the distance, there seemed to be some vibrations and noises, and Jiaozhou soldiers were coming.

This is Jiaozhou.

In the face of the invasion by Liu Bei and others, when Shixie and others in Jiaozhou discovered that the mountains and forests could not be an obstacle to Liu Bei, and when they discovered that the Guimen Pass they had thought to be foolproof could easily be captured, Shixie's family suddenly woke up. , what they thought was thick armor was actually like paper.

Prying open the gate of hell is only the first step to enter Jiaozhou, but to gain a firm foothold, it requires knocking off two or three cities from Shi Xie's hands to build a base of Liu Bei's own. After all, transporting grain, grass and other materials from Sichuan and Shu costs a lot of money. Not to mention, it is still very slow. If there is any problem that cannot be followed up, it will be GG Smecta immediately.

Compared with at the gate of hell, the resistance of Shi Xie and others with the Jiaozhou soldiers was stronger and more tenacious, because no matter how stupid Shi Xie was, he understood that if Liu Bei and others were allowed to take root, their own game would be over sooner or later. …

However, Shi Xie forgot one thing. His subordinates' abilities were not as strong as he imagined.

Now, Liu Bei's goal is basically close to being achieved.

Just need to do this last step...

Of course, compared to the various battles in the Central Plains, the battle between Liu Bei and Shi Xie was far inferior to the battlefield in the Central Plains in terms of the number of soldiers and the intensity of the battle. Even in the eyes of some critical people, Jiaozhou What's the point of such a battle? The two parties don't have a total of fifty thousand, so they still have the nerve to show off?

However, for Liu Bei, the current Jiaozhou battlefield is already a very big scene...

In the Yellow Turban War, the three Liu Bei brothers first entered the battlefield. Regardless of how they bragged in and out, they would do it again in a different position. In fact, everyone knows that with Liu Bei's few swords and guns, he could not directly fight Zhang Jiao on the frontal battlefield. The three brothers fought against each other, so the three Liu Bei brothers just pretended to be Lu Zhi's disciples, playing soy sauce, beating side drums and so on. If they wanted to take Zhang Jiao's head among tens of millions of people, that would be the ability of later generations of the True Three Kingdoms. things.

Later, the same was true for the alliance between jujube and Dong. The news of the alliance between jujube and jujube spread to Gaotang, and Liu Bei was waiting for the people excitedly. When he arrived in the dust, the show was over, and everyone went home. Liu Bei couldn't do anything. I didn't catch it. It was Mr. Luo's fault to kill Hua Xiong with warm wine...

As for later, Xuzhou, Xiaopei, Xinye, etc. basically just took off their pants as soon as their buttocks were warm, and they were coaxed away. When they went to attack Sichuan and Shu later, they also received more or less restrictions from Liu Qi and others. , like now, it is the first time for Liu Bei to lead a group alone and attack a state completely independently.

The first time is always unforgettable...

There are now tens of thousands of soldiers under Liu Bei's three brothers, but the composition is quite complicated. Some of them are Liu Bei's original veterans, and the other part are new soldiers recruited in Sichuan and Sichuan to eat military food. There are the manpower supported by the local indigenous people in the Jianning area, and the rest are the auxiliary civilians who basically have no regard for combat effectiveness and the Jiaozhou indigenous people collected along the way.

It is undoubtedly a dream to say that these people can be trained by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to become qualified soldiers in a short period of time, but getting the right soldiers to appear in the right position is the most important command skill of Liu Bei and others.

There are many hills in Jiaozhou, and their shapes are completely different from those in the Central Plains. The closer you get to the lair of Shi Xie and others, the terrain becomes more and more weird. There are even strange terrains where two or three large bamboo shoots suddenly appear on a relatively flat ground, and there are also the kind of strange terrain that is everywhere. The mountain of the cave...

Such terrain amazed Liu Bei and others.

However, it is precisely because of this that in such a strange terrain, the Kansai combat mode that Liu Bei and others were accustomed to had to change to using Zhang Fei's mountains to outflank the back road, Guan Yu's frontal attack, and then Liu Bei, Mi Zhu and others The system structure of fighting positions, and choosing to attack the city in Jiaozhou at the same time, is also to besiege the city and provide reinforcements, rather than besieging three buildings, or besieging and fiercely attacking.

This time, Liu Bei was lying in ambush, preparing to ambush the Jiaozhou soldiers who came to support him.

Sometimes Liu Bei even looked forward to whether Shi Xie would personally lead the soldiers, and then he could capture Jiaozhou as quickly as possible. It's a pity that this can only be thought of. After all, Shi Xie's appearance fee is not something Liu Bei can afford at the moment, so it's still not Shi Xie who comes this time.

Speaking of which, Liu Bei has been fighting on the battlefield for more than ten years. Even though Liu Bei was extremely unwilling to admit it in his heart, he had to face the situation where his physical strength began to decline and he was no longer at his peak. Liu Bei even had a vague feeling that in this battle of Jiaozhou, even if he finally captured Jiaozhi, he might not have the chance to return to the Central Plains...

The noisy sound was getting closer and closer, interrupting Liu Bei's thoughts.

The drums roar!

In the astonishment of the Jiaozhou soldiers, the archers led by Liu Bei had already fired the first round of arrows!

Facing the incoming arrow rain, due to the narrow queue of Jiaozhou soldiers, there was no time to make any changes in defensive formations in a hurry. They could only rely on the blessing of the god of luck on the battlefield to avoid the damage of the arrows.

"Enemy attack!" Enemy attack! 』

"Counterattack!" Form a formation to counterattack immediately! 』

"No! rush out! Rush out now! 』

The instructions were confusing and inconsistent, and the soldiers in Jiaozhou were at a loss as to what to do.

Then came the second wave of arrows, and the third wave...

The whistling rain of arrows hungrily pursued flesh and blood, devouring life, and then dyed the green and black gray belonging to Lingnan with patches of bright red.

The equipment of the Jiaozhou soldiers was very average. Compared with the veterans led by Liu Bei, their clothes could be said to be ragged. Because of the lack of copper and iron on the one hand, and the lack of innovation in technology on the other hand, many people were not wearing armor, and their weapons were not sharp enough. As soon as they came into contact with the interception front set by Liu Bei, they were killed one after another... …

One of them yelled and waved a wooden gun and rushed towards Liu Bei howling. Seeing that he had no clue, Liu Bei casually crossed his sword and kicked him out, hitting him and rushing up behind him. of the other two.

There is no decent armor or sharp weapons. These people have not even gone through the basic training of soldiers...

Just ordinary people.

After Liu Bei confirmed this, he felt some pity, but the pity flashed by. A man next to him stabbed him from the side. Liu Bei easily avoided the sharp edge and sent the double-stranded sword in without hesitation. The man's bony chest.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei seems to be a coward. He cries when he sees everyone. Even Brother Zhu directly tells Liu Bei, "You don't have to do anything. I'll give you a look and you'll cry..."

But in fact, in history, Liu Bei's military force is not bad, even better than ordinary generals. In any case, he can fight life and death on the battlefield for more than ten or twenty years without suffering any serious injuries. This in itself This is a kind of evidence of Liu Bei's military power.

Liu Bei commanded the intercepting array, shouted and assassinated two more people one after another. He immediately frightened these Jiaozhou people who did not know whether they were civilians or soldiers, and they did not dare to step forward with their swords and guns.

Before these Jiaozhou soldiers could decide their next move, a howling sound came from the back of the valley, shaking the entire valley and seemed to buzz together. Then they saw Zhang Fei like a wave of Like a black whirlwind, it roared in from the other end of the valley!

Zhang Fei waved his Zhangba spear and crashed into the chaotic queue of Jiaozhou soldiers. The sharp spear tip cut into the flesh one after another, and the blood spurting out immediately stained Zhang Fei's armor and robes. Got to be red.

Zhang Fei laughed loudly and pierced the head of the person opposite him with a spear. The tip of the spear came out from his eye socket and penetrated his brain, and then spurted out a large amount of plasma and brain matter. There were three Jiaozhou soldiers beside this unlucky man. Seeing this miserable situation, one of them was so frightened that his legs went weak and he sat on the ground. The other two actually hugged each other and shivered...

Zhang Fei snorted and didn't bother to kill the frightened three people anymore. He threw the corpses away with his spear and knocked away the three people blocking the way. Then he scanned the battlefield and suddenly stared in one direction!

I saw a man standing not far away, holding a bow and arrow and shooting at Liu Bei's soldiers on the cliff. Beside him, there were some red-robed and black-armored guards, who stood out among the large group of ragged Jiaozhou soldiers with incomplete armor.

"Ha ha! Third Master has found you! 』

Zhang Fei was shocked, and then he roared and rushed towards the man.

The commander of the Jiaozhou soldiers also discovered Zhang Fei, and then immediately turned his bow and arrow and shot towards Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei was not afraid at all, he swung his spear away and knocked down the arrows, and then sprinted forward. The two Jiaozhou soldiers who were intercepting him at the front were hit hard by Zhang Fei, and they both vomited blood and flew away. go out.

Seeing Zhang Fei's fierceness, the Jiaozhou commander quickly abandoned his bow and arrow, picked up the sword and shield beside him, then shrunk, and tried to block Zhang Fei's attack with his shield...

Amidst the loud noise, the commander of the Jiaozhou soldiers tried his best to hold up his shield to block it, taking away most of Zhang Fei's strength. Even so, he couldn't hold on to the iron shield. He suddenly became unstable and staggered back!

Zhang Fei shouted again, like a tiger coming down the mountain, with one thrust and one thrust, the zhangba spear, which was three minutes longer than ordinary people, slid past like a strange python, and actually caught up in the gap between the guards of Jiaozhou soldiers. The empty gate is opened and the governor of Jiaozhou is opened!

The commander of Jiaozhou obviously did not expect Zhang Fei's move. He was so frightened that he was about to either kick him out or slash him with his sword. However, there had been no decent battles for many years, which made him His body became a little sluggish without realizing it. Normally there would be no problem, but when encountering a brave general like Zhang Fei, a little negligence or flaw would doom everything.

The Zhangba spear penetrated straight up through the gap in the Jiaozhou general's lower abdominal armor, and the entire blade sank straight in!

Zhang Fei lifted the body of the Jiaozhou general high into the air, and while the blood was dripping down, he shouted loudly, "Enemy leader!" Someone has asked for it! You still won't surrender? ! 』

……???(ˊ?ˋ)???*T……

On the other side, Sun Quan retreated in embarrassment. The news reached Chaisang, Jiangdong, and Zhou Yu who was in Chaisang didn't know what to say for a while.

Zhou Yu almost never stopped during this period. He was either directing battles on the battlefield or running around and working hard. Even for people who are used to military life, it was somewhat difficult, not to mention the mental torture. , but over the years, Zhou Yu has experienced many things. Although his body is haggard, his spirit has become more tempered, so now his face only looks darker and a little haggard, but despite looking forward, he still has the fortitude of the past. color.

Over the years, especially after Sun Ce's death, Zhou Yu's burden has been very heavy. Although Sun Quan is Sun Ce's brother, the two men have completely different personalities. This makes some methods that could be successfully implemented by Sun Ce not work by Sun Quan. Moreover, because of Sun Quan's distrust of Zhou Yu, some It was very difficult to communicate...

Just like this time, Zhou Yu really didn't know what to say.

If Sun Quan returns with a great victory, then Zhou Yu may be willing to hand over his military power and then become a free scholar until the day he meets Bo Fu again...

That's right, if Sun Quan returns with a great victory, Zhou Yu will become the first target of Sun Quan's suppression. Zhou Yu knew this well. But now that Sun Quan has failed, it does not mean that Zhou Yu will have an easy time. Regarding this war, the various criticisms surrounding this war will make the rift between Zhou Yu and Sun Quan deeper and deeper!

Judging from Zhou Yu's understanding of Sun Quan, he would probably smile on the surface, then grit his teeth behind his back and hide in a corner sharpening his knife...

When Huang Gai came, he also brought Zhou Yu's late breasts.

The late preserved pork is very simple, with one meat and two vegetarian dishes. The meat dish is a grilled fish, the vegetarian dish is pickled lotus root, and the other is sunflower sprouts.

Sunflower is not the sunflower of later generations, but another plant with thick leaves and some fine hairs. After cooking, sunflower was known as the "Lord of Five Vegetables" in the pre-Qin Dynasty and was an important leaf-eating vegetable. , because the leaves are tender and smooth, which helps in swallowing, so it is very useful for the elderly. The ancients did not know how to care for their teeth. As they got older, their teeth became unbearable and they mainly swallowed food. Therefore, the slippery sunflower leaves became a good food to honor the elderly.

Zhou Yu looked at the dishes and sighed slightly in his heart. He has also been upset and angry these past few days, and his gums can't help but feel angry and a little painful. The grilled fish is delicious, but unfortunately he can't eat it. He can only eat some of the old man's favorite sunflower seeds...

Zhou Yu asked Huang Gai and found out that Huang Gai had already eaten, so he was not polite and sat down to eat. Halfway through the meal, Zhou Yu suddenly asked, "What did Demou say in the letter?" 』

"De Mou said..." Huang Gai didn't take precautions and subconsciously answered a few words before he realized, "Uh... how did the governor know?" 』

Zhou Yu nodded, said nothing, and continued eating.

Huang Gai was silent for a moment, then took out a letter from his arms and signaled to Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu shook his head and said: "No need... I'm just talking about public prosecution..."

Huang Gai was stunned for a moment, nodded and said: "That is to say, my lord was attacked in Yunmengze, and is currently stationed in Jiangxia. He will prepare to return to Jiangdong soon..."

Zhou Yu put down the bowls and chopsticks and signaled the attendants to take away the rest of the food.

"Captain, don't you want to eat now?" Huang Gai took a look and asked, obviously surprised and worried. For the ancients, the amount of food eaten represented a certain degree of health, just like Sima Yi knew that Zhuge Liang had eaten less, and then happily announced that Zhuge Liang was not far from death.

Zhou Yu pointed to his teeth and said, "My tooth has been hurting for the past few days. It will be better in a while..."

"..." Zhou Yu rinsed his mouth with a cup of water, and then said in silence for a while, "I have also received the news... This time my lord is not only... but there are also sons and daughters in the army who are infected with the plague, and they are very ill..."

When Zhou Yu left, it was not that there were no illnesses in the army, but they had not spread yet and were still within control. After all, no one could guarantee that the soldiers would be as solid as iron all year round and would not get sick at all. So at first, not many people paid attention to those individual cases. It was not until Sun Quan mobilized his troops to Dangyang and a large-scale infection occurred that people paid attention to it.

Huang Gai's expression suddenly changed, and his brows furrowed deeply.

The word plague in the Han Dynasty is a very terrifying existence, almost synonymous with death.

"Why did Demou..." Huang Gai was puzzled. Why didn't Cheng Pu say anything about such a serious problem?

Sun Quan, Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others, as well as the New Force faction Pan Zhang, Zhou Tai and Xu Sheng, etc., formed a quite complex network, with constraints on each other, but also in a state of symbiosis with each other.

Just like the older generation generals such as Cheng Pu and Huang Gai, some like Cheng Pu are more on Sun Quan's side, while others like Huang Gai are closer to Zhou Yu. At the same time, there are conflicts between Zhou Yu and Sun Quan. But when it comes to facing the Jiangdong natives, they have certain common interests.

The reason why Cheng Pu didn't mention the plague was because he didn't want to take the blame.

From a certain point of view, Sun Quan is certainly the first commander-in-chief, but as Cheng Pu, as the deputy governor, it is one thing whether Sun Quan is willing to listen to the persuasion at key points, and whether Cheng Pu proposes it is another matter. Obviously, when it comes to the plague, Cheng Pu, like most generals, has no special countermeasures. What if Sun Quan counts the plague as Cheng Pu's inability to manage the army...

Then, after sorting it out one by one, Cheng Pu was in big trouble.

Because the army was not strict, it was infected with the plague. Then because of the plague, the troops had to withdraw. Because the soldiers' combat effectiveness was reduced due to the plague, they were successfully attacked by Yu Ban during the withdrawal process...

Wait, wait, the root of everything is the plague.

Are these okay?

As for the origin of the plague, we can't blame those invisible viruses. Then Cheng Pu, who "does not strictly manage the army", will face a huge pot.

If Sun Quan is a monarch who is brave enough to take on responsibilities, Cheng Pu naturally does not have to consider these issues, but the question is, is Sun Quan such a person?

Anyway, if the army is not strict, then one is Zhou Yu, who has been kicked back to Chaisang by Sun Quan, and the other is Cheng Pu who has been around Sun Quan. Comparing the two, who is more suitable to take the blame?

Therefore, Cheng Pu's purpose in concealing the plague was to allow Sun Quan to return to Jiangdong as quickly and smoothly as possible.

As soon as Sun Quan returned to Jiangdong, it was impossible for no one to be stationed in the Jiangxia area of ​​​​Jingzhou, and Cheng Pu could logically escape from the center of the whirlpool. Although he had to face those Jiangdong soldiers who were infected, in comparison, as a senior general in the army, the political The risk is obviously greater than the risk of contracting the disease.

Then, seeing winter approaching, Cheng Pu would control the plague, and then defend and counterattack to win one or two battles. Then Cheng Pu would be able to turn the crisis around, and even achieve meritorious deeds...

So Zhou Yu's choice at that moment became the key.

The current situation is chaotic, and with such a lord, can Zhou Yu not have a toothache?