Liu Bei dared to abandon everything because Jingzhou had no way to retreat, and if he couldn't defeat Chen Xu this time, Jingzhou would perish sooner or later.

However, Yuan Tan's strength far surpasses Liu Bei, and he does not have Liu Bei's courage.

Therefore, when he heard that Chen Gong and Wang Yan led 100,000 troops to the border, Yuan Tan immediately became in chaos, and he wanted to lead his troops to retreat.

Zhuge Liang and the others had just recovered from the changes in Jingzhou, and then they heard the situation in Jizhou, and their faces were very ugly.

"King Yan must not be allowed to withdraw his troops, otherwise the coalition army will definitely collapse."

Thinking of this, Zhuge Liang immediately overstepped his behalf, and began to ask Lu Kuang about the situation in Jizhou in detail.

After listening to the detailed battle report, Zhuge Liang comforted Yuan Tan and said: "King Yan doesn't need to worry too much, it is expected that it must be because Chen Wenzhao was defeated and retreated to Chang'an, and Chen Gongtai bluffed in Bingzhou, wanting to attract King Yan to return to the rescue." ”

"If King Yan really acts like this, I'm afraid he will fall for the tricks of thieves."

Yuan Tan said with some eagerness: "In this attack on Guanzhong, I have almost done my best, and I have not left too many soldiers and horses at all. ”

"If there are 100,000 thieves in the state, then my rear will not be protected!"

Guo Jia, who had been watching from the sidelines, interjected at this time: "The severe cold in the north, I believe King Yan knows it very well, does King Yan think that in this winter, the state army may attack Jizhou?" ”

Yuan Tan was stunned when he heard this, thought carefully for a while, and immediately fell silent.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the winter was already very cold, especially in the north, and many people froze to death at home every winter.

If a war were to be waged in winter, the cold winter alone would have caused 100,000 troops to suffer heavy casualties.

If the battle is unfavorable, the 100,000-strong army is likely to be defeated.

Therefore, when winter comes, the north will strike a truce and recuperate.

After thinking about this, Yuan Tan spoke: "Although under normal circumstances, because the weather is too cold, there will indeed be no war. ”

"However, it is difficult to ensure that the state army was taken by surprise and attacked Jizhou while our army's defense was lax."

When Zhou Yu heard this, he said with a smile: "King Yan's words are wrong, if Chen Gongtai is really ready to raid Jizhou, he will not make a big show of Chen Bing's border." ”

"And although King Yan attacked Guanzhong this time and brought a lot of soldiers and horses, he also sent talented and virtuous people to guard the rear, even if Chen Gongtai tried his best, he may not be able to get too many results."

Xun You also said: "General Lu said that Chen Gong and Wang Yan led 100,000 troops, and stationed troops on the border of Youzhou and Jizhou, didn't King Yan feel that there was anything wrong?" ”

Yuan Tan looked puzzled, but Zhuge Liang and the others were smiling.

This time, Fu Zhu began to explain to Yuan Tan: "If Chen Gongtai is really ready to capture Jizhou, he will not disperse the 100,000 army, but will gather his troops in one place and directly attack Jizhou." ”

"Chen Gongtai scattered the 100,000 troops and watched the border with his troops, which shows that he is to deter the lord, so that the lord can lead the troops to withdraw to Jizhou."

When Yuan Tan heard this, he suddenly realized.

It's just that he is still a little worried and said: "Having said that, Jizhou is my foundation after all, and there is absolutely no room for loss." ”

"Hahahaha!"

At this moment, Cao Cao laughed loudly and said, "Why should the virtuous nephew worry about the situation in Jizhou, even if there are 100,000 troops under the command of Chen Gong, what can he do?" ”

Yuan Tan looked at Cao Cao with a puzzled look in his eyes.

Cao Cao continued to explain: "Although Chen Gong is a great talent, after all, he has no ability to lead troops, and Wang Yanzong is a qualified commander, but he has more than enough to defend the city and is not enterprising."

Speaking of this, Cao Cao stroked his beard and continued: "Attacking the city, if there is no famous general to command, what combat effectiveness does the 100,000 newly recruited army have? ”

"As long as the virtuous nephew gives an order and makes people watch Wang Yan's movements closely, Jizhou will definitely be safe."

When everyone heard Cao Cao's words, they all nodded.

Strategists and generals are two different types, strategists can give advice, but they do not necessarily have the talent to command troops.

For example, Chen Gong, Jia Xu, Tian Feng, Li Ru, Guo Jia and others are all first-class strategists who can gain insight into the enemy's opportunities.

However, there are specializations in the art industry, and their leadership ability may not even be comparable to a third-rate general.

It's okay to let these people defend the city, but if they let them lead the army to conquer the city, it's a little difficult for them.

Not all of them are like Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, Zhou Yu, and Fu Zhu, who can act as strategists and lead an army alone.

The general is the courage of the soldiers, and the supreme general of the state is doomed, and the threat of the state army to Jizhou will be greatly discounted.

Yuan Tan's mind turned sharply, and he understood what Cao Cao meant, and secretly thought for a while, and found that none of the famous generals with outstanding abilities under Chen Xu's command stayed in Bingzhou.

In this way, even if there were really 100,000 troops in the state, the threat would not be too great.

After all, no matter how many soldiers and horses there are, they also need to have generals to command.

There will be a bear, a nest of soldiers, and an army that lacks the command of famous generals, how is it different from a plate of scattered sand?

Of course, if Zhao Yun and Xu Huang, these famous generals in Guanzhong, appear in Bingzhou at this time, I am afraid that Yuan Tan will not be at ease.

It's just that after the coalition forces captured Jiguan, they cut off the connection between Guanzhong and Bingzhou, and the famous generals of Guanzhong stayed in Chang'an at this time.

Therefore, after Yuan Tan was relieved by everyone for a while, he didn't worry too much.

"Stomp, stomp!"

At this moment, there was another rush of footsteps, but it was Lu Xiang who entered the big tent.

"Lord, Mr. Feng Ji has seen through the reality of the thief army, it turns out that those Bingzhou troops stationed on the border of Youzhou are just bluffing."

"Not only that, Mr. Judge sent someone to secretly infiltrate the territory of Bingzhou to investigate the reality of the Bingzhou army."

"Later, I found out that even the combined state army led by Chen Gong and Wang Yan was only 30,000 people, which was just a wide range of banners and bluffs!"

At the beginning of the Chen Gong and Wang Yantun soldiers at the border, they were known as 100,000 troops, which made the people in Jizhou panic.

As a last resort, Jizhou Wenwu was preparing for defense while discussing whether to report the matter to Yuan Tan.

In fact, at the beginning, the vast majority of civil and military forces in Jizhou asked to report the matter to Yuan Tan.

However, the trial and match were strongly disagreed, believing that it was now a cold winter, and the state army would never launch an attack on Jizhou.

Moreover, there were suddenly 100,000 troops in the state, and there were too many doubts.

If he rashly reported the matter to Yuan Tan, Yuan Tan led his troops back to help, and caused the coalition army to collapse, it may be in the middle of Chen Gong's treacherous scheme.

Therefore, the trial suppressed the intelligence, and then contacted Feng Ji and sent someone to spy on the state army.

It's just that although the trial suppressed the matter, some people waited for a while, worried that Jizhou would be lost, so they quietly sent someone to report to Yuan Tan.

After the trial and discipline probed the truth of the Bingzhou army, they learned that someone had disobeyed the order and sent someone to report to Yuan Tan, and he was immediately shocked.

The judge hurriedly sent a messenger and hurried to Guanzhong to inform Yuan Tan of the bluff of the Bingzhou army, so as not to lead the troops to retreat.

Therefore, two different pieces of information will arrive at the coalition camp in no particular order.

After Yuan Tan knew the cause and effect of the incident, he was happy and angry, happy that the rear was worry-free, and angry that someone came here to lie about the military situation without finding out the information clearly.

It's just that because there are many people present, he can't be angry.

When Zhuge Liang heard the news, he immediately stroked his palms and laughed, and said, "Since the thief army is bluffing, King Yan doesn't need to worry about the loss of the rear. ”

The rest of the people also said hello to Yuan Tan, but Liu Bei's face was always sad.

Zhuge Liang knew that Liu Bei was worried about the situation in Jingzhou, and immediately said to everyone: "In fact, I am more worried about the situation in Jingzhou than the situation in Jizhou. ”

"There are no generals in Bingzhou to lead the troops, and the troops are insufficient, but there are famous generals like Xu Huang in Yizhou, and there are many old Bashu minions of Chen Zheng."

"Now Chen Zheng has 100,000 troops stationed on the border of Jingzhou, even if Yuanzhi can hold Xiangyang, the Yizhou army will also cut off the connection between Jingzhou and Guanzhong."

"At that time, there was no way to transport Jingzhou's grain and grass to Guanzhong."

Since Wuguan was taken by the coalition forces, it was much easier for Jingzhou to transport grain and grass to Guanzhong, and if this grain route was cut off, the grain and grass of the coalition forces would become tense.

Cao Cao is a bold person, and he also knows the urgency of the matter, so he immediately said: "Compared with the strength of the Guanzhong army in Chang'an, we have an absolute advantage. ”

"Even if General Huang Zhong leads 30,000 troops back to Jingzhou, it will not have much impact on the situation in Guanzhong."

Zhuge Liang heard Cao Cao's words, and immediately felt happy in his heart.

In fact, from the very beginning, Zhuge Liang had this plan, but he was worried that he would be criticized by others if he said such a thing, so he kept avoiding it.

In the final analysis, Zhuge Liang is still under Liu Bei, although this approach is beneficial to the overall situation, but as long as Zhuge Liang says so, it is difficult to guarantee that the rest of the people will not think that Zhuge Liang deliberately favors Liu Bei.

However, after this kind of thing was said by Cao Cao, the nature was completely different.

Many of you present are the best among the people.

They naturally knew that if Jingzhou was lost, or if the grain route was cut off, it would have a great impact on the coalition forces.

At this time, sending Huang Zhong to lead troops back is definitely the most correct approach.

Therefore, many people immediately responded, and Liu Bei finally slowly showed a smile on his face.

The deliberations of the coalition army lasted until late before the meeting ended, and on the second day, Huang Zhong led 30,000 troops and rushed to Jingzhou in the starry night.

In Chang'an City, Chen Xu was wearing a brocade jacket and was playing against Tian Feng.

"I'm losing again!"

Seeing that his big dragon was slaughtered by Tian Feng, Chen Xu smiled bitterly, shook his head and said.

Tian Feng was also smiling, not at all troubled by the defeat and returning to Chang'an, but seemed quite interested.

"Lord, you've lost again."

Chen Xu spread his hands and said, "I can't win you in Go, or let's change to chess." ”

Tian Feng's face twitched for a moment, and then he hurriedly changed the topic and said, "If it is freezing today, the two armies will not fight, and today, the sailor has no effect on Guanzhong. ”

"If the lord sends an envoy to Sun Quan at this time, asking for Xingba to exchange for Zhou Tai, it is expected that he will succeed."

When Chen Xu heard this, his face became solemn, and he asked, "Is the time ripe?" ”

Tian Feng nodded vigorously and said, "It's mature!" ”

Standing up, Chen Xu walked back and forth in the courtyard a few times, looking at the bare branches on the big tree, and then asked Jia Xu and the others to come over.

In the camp of the coalition army, within the sub-village of Dongwu, the soldiers of Dongwu basically cowered in the camp tent and did not participate in the training at all.

The soldiers of Eastern Wu are all southerners, and I don't know how much warmer the winter there is compared to Guanzhong.

The soldiers of Eastern Wu left their hometowns and stayed in Guanzhong for the winter, and there was no way to adapt, so they could only warm themselves in the tent every day.

Moreover, loud noises were forbidden in the army, so even though it was daytime, there was still some quiet in the camp.

"Stomp, stomp!"

Suddenly, there was a rush of footsteps, and they quickly approached the tent.

"Lord, Guanzhong sent a messenger over."

Sun Quan was roasting the fire in the tent when he suddenly heard Xu Sheng's voice, and hurriedly got up and asked, "Chen Wenzhao sent a messenger over, what is the matter?" ”

Xu Sheng said: "It's still for the sake of getting back Gan Ning." ”

Sun Quan was overjoyed when he heard this, and said: "Gan Ning is too stubborn and has always been unwilling to surrender, and I miss Youping for a long time. ”

"If you can exchange it back to Youping, what if you send Gan Ning back?"

It's just that this time Sun Quan didn't take the lead in agreeing to the envoy of Guanzhong, but asked Zhuge Liang first.

Today's situation is very different from the past, even if Gan Ning is replaced, it will not have much impact on the overall situation.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang agreed without hesitation.

Sun Quan was naturally overjoyed and agreed to the exchange of generals, and then agreed on a date with the envoy of Guanzhong to prepare to exchange for Zhou Tai.

Chang'an City, inside a mansion, Zhou Tai held his chin and sighed deeply.

During the period of captivity, Chen Xu did not abuse him, but raised him well, but restricted his personal freedom.

During this period, Chen Xu and the generals of Guanzhong also came to persuade Zhou Tai to surrender, but they were unsuccessful.

"I don't know, when will I return to the lord."

Zhou Tai remembered the years of the Jin Ge Iron Horse in the past, and let out a deep sigh from his mouth.

"Stomp, stomp!"

Suddenly, there was a chaotic sound of footsteps, but it was Chen Xu who took Dian Wei and Zhao Yun into the courtyard.

"Youping, you prepare, I'll have someone send you to King Wu's side."

When Zhou Tai heard this, his eyes were round, and he said in disbelief: "You, you, what did you say?" ”

Chen Xu smiled slightly and said, "King Wu has promised to exchange you for Xingba, so you have to be free." ”

Zhou Tai is a famous general in the end, although he is ecstatic in his heart, he still does not show it.

He took a deep breath, then solemnly saluted Chen Xu and said, "Thank you King Qin for your kindness for such a long time!" ”

Chen Xu looked at Zhou Tai and couldn't help sighing: "Youping is a hero in the world, but it's a pity that he can't be used by me." ”

Speaking of this, Chen Xu suddenly slapped his forehead and said: "I have admired the name of the Metropolitan Governor for a long time, and this time Youping returned to the village, hoping to bring a letter to Zhou Gongjin for me and say hello to him." ”

After speaking, Chen Xu took out a letter from his arms.