Although it had been nearly determined, the general direction of attack of the princes' coalition army, Chen Xu still did not dare to slack off in the slightest.

After all, the princes have a lot of talent under their command, and maybe they really take it by surprise and launch an attack from elsewhere.

Therefore, Chen Xu did not transfer the troops of Bingzhou and Yizhou to Guanzhong, but only requisitioned 30,000 soldiers and horses from Liangzhou.

Rao is like this, and the two counties bordering Yanzhou and Yuzhou also gathered tens of thousands of Guanzhong troops in the territory to guard against the alliance of princes that may appear at any time.

Bingzhou Mu Chen Palace, as well as Yizhou Mu Chen Zheng, the two did not dare to slack off, and almost mobilized their soldiers and horses to the border, guarding cautiously every day.

Not only that, but almost all the people in Hanoi County and Henan Yin were forcibly relocated. Maybe these two counties will be full of smoke in the future and become completely battlefields.

Yanzhou, Chenliu County.

The soldiers and horses from the four princes, the fluttering flags covered the sun, even if it was daytime, it looked a little gloomy.

In the ditch water, dense warships flowed endlessly, and many ships drove from Dongwu, almost occupying the river.

The water is a tributary of the Yellow River, which flows directly from Yin in Henan Province to Chenliu County in Yanzhou, and then flows all the way to the southeast.

The Langdang Canal traverses Yanzhou and Jizhou, flows through Chenliu County and Chen Guo, and when it arrives in Runan, it is renamed Yingshui again by the locals, and then leads directly to Yangzhou and gathers with the Huai River.

Therefore, the three names of Yingou Shui, Langdang and Yingshui are different, but in fact they are the same river, which unites the Yellow River and the Huai River from northwest to southeast.

Guanzhong, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and Yangzhou were completely able to penetrate the waterway through this big river, which also provided convenience for the Dongwu naval army to go north and transport grain and grass.

This time, Soochow dispatched almost all the ships in the territory, and Sun Quan also made up his mind to unite with the princes and destroy Guanzhong in a war.

In addition, the grain convoys from Yuan Tan in the north and Cao Cao in the east are also endless.

In order to transport grain and grass, the three princes dispatched more than one million people, and almost all the uneven mountain roads were stepped on.

Only Jingzhou did not transport grain and grass to Chenliu, and the action was very strange.

At this time, the sour jujube has completely become a military fortress, all the people have been forcibly moved, and there are military camps and soldiers everywhere, but there is no chaos.

"Stomp, stomp!"

A rush of footsteps broke the calm of the county office.

"Report, the King of Chu has led an army of 100,000 and came to a position twenty miles away from Suojube City!"

In the county office, Zhuge Liang, Cao Cao, Sun Quan, Yuan Tan and others were discussing the military situation, and after hearing the messenger's report, their faces all showed joy.

The last army finally arrived at the sour date, and this time the princes' alliance has been declared successful.

However, it is said that Zhuge Liang followed the example of Su Qin in the past, sent envoys to the vassal states, and successively said that Sun Quan, Cao Cao, and Yuan Tan were mobilized, and they made an appointment to attack Guanzhong with all their national strength.

Zhuge Liang asked the princes to bluff at the border, confuse Guanzhong, and contain the forces in Guanzhong.

On the other hand, he asked the princes to lead a large army to secretly assemble in the sour date, and asked the princes to mobilize all their forces to transport grain and grass to the sour date.

The soldiers and horses did not move, and the grain and grass went first.

This must be a large-scale war, and if you can't have enough food and grass, you don't need to talk about attacking Guanzhong.

During this time, the Cao army, the Yuan army, and the Wu army had arrived in Sujuo, and only the Jingzhou army led by Liu Bei finally arrived due to the long distance.

Cao Cao laughed loudly: "The last time I saw Xuande, many years have passed, and I miss it very much. Now that Xuande has led the troops to arrive in Sour Zao, why don't you go out of the city with me to greet you? ”

Everyone knew that now was the time to work together, so they did not refuse Cao Cao's suggestion, and they all bowed their heads.

Zhuge Liang also smiled with a smile on his face, as long as the Jingzhou army arrived at Suojube, the alliance of the princes could launch an attack on Guanzhong.

"In that case, let's go out of the city to greet us."

Although the princes have not yet paid homage to the generals, everyone has decided that the commander of the princes' army this time is Zhuge Liang, so they must obey Zhuge Liang's wishes.

On the official road, Liu Bei rode a horse and walked in the front, accompanied by Kuai Liang and Ma Liang, and Wei Yan and Huang Zhong guarded behind.

As for Chen Dao, he followed Liu Bei with white-eared elite soldiers, not leaving an inch.

Although Ma Liang is not very old, he was born with a vision and gray eyebrows, and at this time, his face had a sad expression that could not be concealed.

"My lord, Jingzhou dispatched 100,000 troops to ally with the princes, and there were only 80,000 soldiers and horses left in the territory, and they should be scattered in various counties."

"There are only 50,000 soldiers and horses that can really gather at the border."

"However, these 50,000 soldiers and horses have to defend against enemy troops from Wuguan, Hanzhong, and Bajun, and I am afraid that the troops are a little stretched."

Liu Bei gambled on all his belongings this time, and compared with Sun Quan and Cao Cao, Jingzhou had to stay behind to guard against the Yizhou army.

Calculated in this way, the current Jingzhou is extremely empty.

Liu Bei's eyes were a little deep, thinking of the deaths of Pang Tong and Zhang Fei, and a fierce color flashed in his eyes.

"The princes will attack Guanzhong, how much strength does Chen Wenzhao have to attack Jingzhou? As long as Xiangyang is not lost, it doesn't matter how the Yizhou army rages. ”

This time, Liu Bei gambled on everything, including his net worth and all his foundation.

If you don't succeed, you will be benevolent.

If it were someone else, I am afraid that I would not have this kind of courage.

It's just that Liu Bei, as the initiator of this alliance of princes, if he can't lead by example, how can he let the other princes do their best?

When Ma Liang and Kuai Liang heard this, they didn't say more.

The army drove forward for a distance, and Liu Bei suddenly saw a lot of dust in front of him, and the four banners of 'Zhuge ', 'Cao', 'Sun' and 'Yuan' were faintly visible.

"It's the King of Chu in front!"

A thunderous voice sounded, and Liu Bei seemed to see Zhang Fei's shadow in a trance.

He hurriedly looked up, only to find an extremely burly military general, galloping over on a war horse, this person was Xu Chu.

"Who is the general?"

Xu Chu's rugged appearance reminded Liu Bei of Zhang Fei, and he had a good impression of the reckless man in front of him for no reason.

Xu Chu hurriedly rolled the saddle and dismounted, and saluted: "Xu Chu, the general under the command of the King of Qi, meet the King of Chu!" ”

Liu Bei also turned over and dismounted, stepped forward to support Xu Chu's arms, and said, "The general doesn't need to be so polite. ”

Looking at Liu Bei's sincere face, Xu Chu couldn't help but have a good impression of the person in front of him, and secretly thought: "I only heard about Corporal Lixian, the king of Chu, before, but when we meet today, I know that this is really the case!" ”

"Stomp, stomp!"

War horses gallop, flags cover the sun, and drums shake the sky.

"Xuande, you and my brother haven't seen each other for many years!"

Cao manipulated the horse to gallop, laughed loudly from a long distance, and cordially called Liu Bei's expression.

Looking up and seeing Cao Cao, Liu Bei couldn't help but smile on his face, remembering that the two sides were enemies at the beginning, but today there is a mutual alliance, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"I haven't seen you for many years, Brother Meng De's demeanor is still the same!"

It didn't take long for Cao Cao and others to come over, and Sun Quan, Yuan Tan, and Zhuge Liang also stepped forward to salute one after another.

The four princes finally met for the first time.

After the ceremony, Zhuge Liang immediately led Liu Bei to the county government to discuss matters, but the city had already set up a camp for the Jingzhou army.

After coming to the county office, the princes were polite for a while, but Yuan Tan was the first to say: "I don't know how many soldiers and horses the king of Chu brought here?" ”

Liu Bei replied: "Not counting the logistics soldiers who transported grain and grass, there are 100,000 people. ”

Yuan Tan's face was unhappy when he heard this, and he said: "Since the King of Chu is the initiator of the Princes' Alliance, why does he only bring such a few soldiers and horses?" ”

This time the princes met the alliance, and Yuan Tan brought 150,000 horse infantry in addition to the soldiers and horses left behind to defend the defense, which was huge.

As for Cao Cao, because he took the route of elite soldiers, but because he had no worries, he also led 150,000 soldiers and horses.

Although Sun Quan only brought 100,000 foot soldiers, he had 30,000 sailors, and the total strength reached 130,000, only Liu Bei had the least soldiers and horses, so it was no wonder that Yuan Tan was displeased.

Liu Bei was not angry, but said with a wry smile: "King Yan sits in the land of Sanzhou, with many soldiers and countless populations. ”

"However, there is only one state in the Chu State, and a few years ago, when he fought with the Yizhou army, he fell into the tricks of thieves by mistake, lost nearly 100,000 soldiers and horses, and his vitality was greatly damaged."

"This time I came to meet the alliance, almost all the soldiers and horses in Jingzhou have been dispatched, and the remaining Jingzhou soldiers have to guard against the enemy army from Yizhou and Guanzhong."

"It can be said that Jingzhou is extremely empty today."

Cao Cao and Sun Quan heard Liu Bei's words, and they also bowed slightly.

According to the current situation in Jingzhou, Liu Bei dispatched 100,000 troops to meet the alliance, which is enough to show his sincerity.

When Yuan Tan heard this, his face softened slightly.

Zhuge Liang said with a smile: "In this attack on Guanzhong, you have all done your best, and the heart of the thief can be learned. ”

"Now that the soldiers and horses have been gathered, let's discuss the matter of sending troops to Guanzhong, the longer it drags on, the more unfavorable it will be for us."

Yuan Tan said: "I have something I don't understand, I wonder if Mr. can solve my confusion?" ”

Zhuge Liang replied: "King Yan, but it doesn't hurt to ask. ”

Yuan Tan said: "More than 500,000 troops gathered in Chenliu, plus the people who transported grain, the total number was no less than one million. ”

"Even if the princes have blocked the border, it is very difficult for Chen Wenzhao to obtain information, but with so many soldiers and horses, it may not be able to hide from Guanzhong's eyes and ears."

"In this way, isn't the previous bluff useless?"

Zhuge Liang didn't answer, Cao Cao immediately laughed and said, "Xian Si is wrong to say this. ”

Cao Cao is Yuan Shao's best friend, and the Yuan and Cao families have always been allies, so Yuan Tan did not dare to be arrogant in the face of Cao Cao.

In terms of seniority alone, Cao Cao is still his elder.

"Uncle, but it doesn't hurt to say it."

Cao Cao stroked his beard, very satisfied with Yuan Tan's title, squinted his eyes and said: "The princes have joined forces to attack Chen, and they have not thought of using any conspiracy and tricks at all, this will be a hard-fought war. ”

"The reason why Kong Ming asked me to bluff at the border is that he didn't expect to deceive Chen Wenzhao all the time, as long as he could hide Chen Wenzhao for a while."

"If what I expected is correct, Chen Wenzhao may have known about the princes' alliance of sour dates before this."

"However, even if he knew that he would immediately mobilize the troops of Yizhou and Bingzhou to help in the future, I am afraid that it would take at least two months."

"And we, within two months, can enter the pass with absolute superiority in troops, attack the city, and occupy the dangerous pass."

"At that time, even if Yizhou and Bingzhou reinforcements came over, what could they do?"

When Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan heard this, they all bowed slightly, and Yuan Tan also suddenly realized.

In fact, as Cao Cao said, Guanzhong Xizuo already knew the true movements of the princes two months ago.

But when the news reached Chang'an, Chen Xu sent people to Yizhou and Bingzhou to mobilize troops and horses, which took a lot of time.

It was not easy to assemble a large army, and the road was very long, and it would take at least three months for the two local armies to gather all in Guanzhong.

This time was a month later than Cao Cao expected.

It can be said that Zhuge Liang's move is to use Yangmou.

Even before that, the Guanzhong strategists had already expected that the alliance of the princes was very likely to meet in Yanzhou or Yuzhou, and then launch an attack on Guanzhong.

However, before getting the confirmed news, Chen Xu did not dare to rashly mobilize Yizhou and merge the state's troops and horses.

Otherwise, if the princes' movements are unexpected by Chen Xu, it will be dangerous to merge the state and Yizhou.

Rao was like this, in order to guard against the alliance of princes who might attack from Yanzhou or Yuzhou, Chen Xu also gathered 150,000 soldiers and horses in Yin and Hanoi counties in Henan.

But in the face of the princes, the terrifying army of more than 500,000 troops and 150,000 soldiers and horses is still a lot worse.

Maybe in the past, when Chen Xu's troops were still small, it was very easy to take the route of elite soldiers and win more with less.

But now, the combat effectiveness of the soldiers among the princes is almost the same.

The large army is head-to-head, if Chen Xu uses 150,000 soldiers and horses to shake the coalition army of more than 500,000 princes, he will definitely hit a stone with an egg, and he has no chance of winning.

And Zhuge Liang is preparing to attack Guanzhong within this time difference, relying on the advantage of troops.

Zhuge Liang said solemnly: "What the King of Qi said is exactly what I want, since the King of Chu has led the troops over, we should launch an attack on Guanzhong as soon as possible." ”

"As long as you can capture Luoyang before the arrival of reinforcements from Yizhou and Bingzhou, and then occupy the dangerous passes and ferries, you can directly point to the old capital Pusaka and threaten Chang'an."

When the princes heard this, they were all excited.

Liu Bei stepped forward and said sharply: "The strength of the princes is combined, and they are only stronger than Chen Wenzhao, but they have been defeated many times in the past, all because of disunity. ”

"Kong Ming spent three years on missions to various countries, and you must already know that Kong Ming is talented, and he is enough to serve as the commander of the three armies."

"In that case, why don't we make an alliance with blood, worship the heavens and worship the generals, and let Kong Ming follow the example of Le Yi and Su Qin, and cooperate with the four kingdoms to attack Guanzhong?"

Cao Cao and the others glanced at each other, and they all nodded fiercely.

When they came this time, they were already preparing to hand over the army to the commander of Zhuge Liang, and now that they have made up their minds, they will not hesitate at a critical time.

Cao Cao took the lead and said: "What Xuande said is very good. ”

Sun Quan and Yuan Tan also said: "Great goodness! ”