Xingping three years, June.

Cao Cao and Liu Bei's armies fought at Pengcheng, the seat of Xuzhou, and Liu Bei and Chen Gong defended Pengcheng.

Cao Cao led his troops to attack the city repeatedly, but it was difficult to take Pengcheng.

It was summer and there was plenty of rain. Cao Cao saw that he could not break through Pengcheng, so he took the advice of his strategist Mao Jue and dug a ditch to prepare for flooding Pengcheng.

Seeing that Pengcheng could not be defended, Liu Bei left Pengcheng with Chen Gong, Zhang Fei and others and retreated in the direction of Runan.

After Cao Cao adopted Mao Jue's strategy and occupied Pengcheng, he did not lead his troops to pursue Liu Bei. Cao Cao fought steadily, stationed troops in Pengcheng, and sent troops to sweep the counties around Pengcheng one by one, taking the counties within the range of Xuzhou as his own. Finally, Cao Cao sent Xiahou Yuan to defend Xuzhou to prevent other princes from attacking Xuzhou.

After Liu Bei withdrew from Pengcheng with his army, he prepared to return to Runan.

At this time, Chen Gong suggested that Liu Bei not return to Runan, and once again lead his troops deep into the hinterland of Yangzhou to attack Yangzhou. Liu Bei gladly accepted Chen Gong's suggestion and turned around to attack Yangzhou.

According to Chen Gong's suggestion, the army rushed straight to Shouchun and rushed to Yuan Shu's lair.

When Yuan Shu learned the news of Liu Bei's attack on Shouchun, he wanted to cry without tears.

He led his troops to attack Runan, and he has been in a stalemate with the defenders of Runan, and has not yet taken advantage of the slightest. Now Liu Bei gave up Xuzhou and went to attack Shouchun, so that Yuan Shu had to come back to help.

Yuan Shu led his troops back and met Liu Bei's army at Lujiang.

The two armies clashed, and when the battle was in full swing, a large army suddenly came out.

This army was led by Mi Zhu and Mi Fang, and they had been following Yuan Hou. When Yuan Shu and Liu Bei were fighting, Mi Zhu and Mi Fang suddenly came out and caught Yuan Shu off guard.

Yuan Shu was defeated by Liu Bei, led the troops to flee, and his general Li Feng was also killed by Zhang Fei.

Yuan Shu led his troops back in defeat and fled back to Shouchun in disgrace.

Liu Bei pursued Yuan Shu and approached the city, but did not capture Shouchun.

In the end, Liu Bei adopted Chen Gong's suggestion and occupied Lujiang County, with Lujiang County, Hefei County, and Yingshang County as the boundary, and included the west of Yangzhou into Liu Bei's sphere of influence, and the east of Yangzhou was still occupied by Yuan Shu.

The purpose of Chen Gong in doing this was to prevent Liu Bei from being taken advantage of by other princes.

Now that Cao Cao occupies Xuzhou, he is accumulating strength and waiting to endure; Sun Jian of Jiangdong has firmly sat in Jiangdong and his power has increased greatly. If Liu Bei attacked Yuan Shu with all his might, once both were defeated, he was likely to be picked up by Sun Jian or Cao Cao, so Chen Gong suggested that Liu Bei take every step of the way, grasp the occupied place, and gradually encroach on Yuan Shu's territory.

In this way, the melee in the Central Plains completely became a war to divide up forces. Cao Cao occupied Xuzhou, Liu Bei obtained the Chen Palace and occupied the west of Yangzhou, and successfully carved up Yuan Shu's strength.

……

Yizhou, Chengdu.

When the news of Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Yuan Shu reached Chengdu, Wang Can got the news.

Wang Can looked at the information in his hand and sighed.

He didn't expect that Liu Bei's gang would actually get the effect of Chen Gong, and this time it was really a change of wind and clouds. Liu Bei has a stoic personality, and he can be as good as a stream, and after getting Chen Gong's refuge, his strength has definitely increased greatly. What Liu Bei lacks is not a general, but a strategist, even if Guan Yu is killed, Liu Bei's strength is still the same.

Chen Gong's submission made Liu Bei's strength suddenly increase a lot.

However, this also increased the variables of the war in the Central Plains.

Cao Cao wants to dominate the Central Plains, which is almost impossible, and the situation in the Central Plains has gradually become clear.

Liu Bei obtained Chen Gong and occupied a part of the west of Yangzhou, and his strength increased rapidly; Cao Cao occupied Xuzhou, and the strength of his command also increased rapidly; Only Yuan Shu was suppressed, and there was always a danger of being devoured by Cao Cao and Liu Bei. Not only that, but Yuan Shu's old subordinate Sun Jian is also eyeing him.

Sun Jian wanted to develop, one was to attack Jingzhou, and the other was to attack Yangzhou.

In comparison, Yangzhou is obviously a piece of fat that is easy to attack and will not encounter difficulties. Therefore, Yuan Shu became a fragrant glutton, and became the target of everyone's bullying.

After reading the contents of the letter, Wang Can breathed a long sigh of relief.

Such a situation is actually beneficial to Wang Can.

Wang Can was worried about the dominance of the family and the rapid rise of Cao Cao, but after the situation of the princes competing for power was formed, it was the most suitable for Wang Can. The princes were jealous of each other, and they restrained each other, and in the end they must have restricted each other. Wang Can is located in Yizhou, occupies Guanzhong, and the north and south are connected in a line, and the growth of power is definitely the fastest.

"Step! Trample! ……”

Just as Wang Can was deep in thought, there was a sound of footsteps outside the study.

Immediately, Dian Wei's majestic voice sounded again: "Lord, Xu Shu came to meet the lord." ”

Wang Can didn't raise his head, and shouted, "Please come in!" ”

After a while, Xu Shu walked outside the study, pushed open the door of the study and walked in. Xu Shu bowed to Wang Can before sitting down in the study.

Wang Can looked at Xu Shu and asked, "Yuan Zhi, is there something wrong?" ”

Xu Shu said: "My lord, I asked Lord Cheng and learned that the palace hall will probably be completed by the end of the year. It's only the beginning of June, and there is still half a year to go before the end of the year. Therefore, he implored the lord to spend half a year sweeping away the Wuxi barbarians and pacifying the calamity in the south of Yizhou. ”

Xu Shu also knew about Wang Can's claim to be the king.

By now, the core strategists under Wang Can had already known about it.

When Wang Can heard this, he said: "Yuan Zhi, you have served as the Taishou of Qiqi County for more than two years, and you have been committed to pacifying the barbarians around Qiqi County, haven't you pacified it yet?" ”

Xu Shu shook his head and smiled bitterly, and said, "Lord, Shu has indeed repelled the barbarians. However, the Wuxi barbarians lived in the mountains and forests, and once they were defeated, they immediately retreated into the mountains and forests. The soldiers under the command of the lowly rank have limited strength and have no way to pursue, and the barbarians are accustomed to fighting in the mountains and forests, and they are extremely fierce, so our cavalry cannot rush and kill in the mountains and forests, and it is difficult to exterminate the Wuxi barbarians. ”

Wang Can's brows furrowed, and his face also showed a solemn expression.

Regarding barbarians, it is not the first time that Wang Can has encountered them.

In the past, Wang Can led his army to Hanzhong to take up his post, and he once encountered barbarians outside Shangyong City. It's just that the barbarians outside Shangyong City are only a few, and their strength is not strong. However, Wuxi Man is a gathering place for ethnic minorities in the mountains and forests, with a large population, and they live in the mountains and forests, which is difficult to subdue.

Xu Shu's words made Wang Can think of something about Meng Shu again.

Meng Shu is also a barbarian in Shu, but the geographical location is different. Wuxi Man was a barbarian led by Shamoke, mainly in Wuling County; Meng Huo, on the other hand, is located in Nanzhong, mainly in Yuewang County.

These barbarians in different locations are all internal troubles that Yizhou needs to deal with.

Historically, Zhuge Liang also pacified the internal troubles first and subdued Meng Shu and Shamoke, so that he had the basis for the Northern Expedition.

Xu Shu came to meet Wang Can, but also wanted Wang Can to use his free time for half a year to calm the internal troubles in Yizhou, so that he could have enough strength to crusade against the Central Plains and lay the foundation for future wars. Wang Can's face was serious, and he said in a deep voice: "Yuan Zhi, where Wuxi Man lives, have you ever sent someone to find out?" ”

Xu Shu hugged his fists and said: "Back to the lord, the place where Wuxi Man lives has been investigated clearly, as long as the army calms down Wuximan, it will definitely be able to sweep away the internal troubles." ”

Wang Can slapped the desk and said, "Okay, just use this time to pacify Wuximan." ”

After finishing speaking, Wang Can instructed again: "You go and prepare, and I will draw up the personnel for the expedition." ”

"No!"

Xu Shu replied with his fists clenched, turned around and left the study.

Wang Can stayed alone in the study, thinking carefully about the generals who went on the expedition. According to Wang Can's original meaning, he had to rest for a year or two, but now it seems that it is obviously impossible. Because after a year or two of rest, Wang Can will chase the world and sweep away the princes of the world, but the barbarians in Yizhou must be pacified, so they can only use this time to pacify.

At this time, the Central Plains was in turmoil.

And Wang Can was not idle, preparing to send troops to calm the internal troubles.

PS: One of the four watches, ask for flower support.