Chapter 37: Awesome

When Liu Bei saw Zhuge Liang, he was not as angry as Guan Yu and Zhao Yun was worried. Instead, he was very calm and so calm that he almost had nothing to say. He asked about the military information here briefly, and then took over the command and asked Zhuge Liang to return to Quanling to transport grain. There were some food stored here, but more than 10,000 troops came at once, so it was not enough, so Zhuge Liang returned to Quanling Base Camp to get some food.

Zhuge Liang did not say anything, put down everything in his hand, and immediately took his wife, a few followers and dozens of personal guards to Quanling. Along the way, he didn't say a word, sat in the car and pondered. Even his wife Huang Yueying couldn't figure out what he was thinking. After three days of travel, he led his people to Zixi, fifty miles away from Quanling. Although it was still early, he unexpectedly set up a camp in Zixi. When the moon rose, Zhuge Liang pulled his wife out of the camp, sat on a big rock by the stream, holding a branch in his hand, and was slashing in the water one after another. The waves rippled, and the moon shadows in the water were all broken into silver scales, flashing non-stop.

"Madam, it's okay for my father-in-law to be in Xiangyang." Zhuge Liang suddenly turned his head and looked at Huang Yueying's eyes and said.

Huang Yueying smiled. Zhuge Liang had never asked her father Huang Yanzhi about her father since he left Xiangyang, but this did not mean that he didn't know. Some of his subordinates specially collected information from Xiangyang. Besides, there were many merchants who had been to Quanling at the last Xiangyang event, including Zhuge Liang, among which he sent. How could he not know about his father's situation? But since he asked, of course she had to answer.

"Fortunately, my father... did not agree to Cao Cangshu's invitation and never became an official." Huang Yueying picked up a stone, threw it into the water with a thud, splashing a few water splashes, and swirling circles of water patterns. She looked at a stalk of water plants in the distance and said with a smile: "My father is like that grass, and has been living outside the officialdom. Even if there is any storm, it will fade away when he comes to him. Although my Huang family cannot follow Cao Cangshu like the Pang family and Cai family, he is not down. My father wrote that he is living a very stable life, and he still chats with Pang Degong, Mr. Shuijing and others every day."

"And!" Zhuge Liang snorted disdainfully: "Since Cao Cangshu wants to achieve unparalleled achievements, he does not know that he respects these hermits and masters, his ability is really limited."

Huang Yueying laughed silently, but did not answer. She just wrapped the cloak on her body tightly and leaned towards Zhuge Liang, gently leaning her head on Zhuge Liang's shoulder. Zhuge Liang seemed a little irritable, and his body moved, but he still didn't get out of the way. He blew the cold river breeze, but he was open with brocade fur, letting the cold wind blow the clothes to make his clothes rush.

"Did I fight this battle not well?" Zhuge Liang lowered his head deeply and buried his head between his knees. His voice was filled with a hint of unwillingness and a hint of depression.

"Okay." Huang Yueying said lightly. Zhuge Liang turned his head and looked at her. Just as she was about to speak, she said again: "It's not good either."

Zhuge Liang frowned and did not speak, but his confused eyes revealed his confusion.

"You said you fought well because with the three thousand military soldiers, you blocked the elite of Cao's army, blocked their way south, and saved the retreating road for the lord." Huang Yueying said slowly: "But you did not move forward, did not kill many opponents, so that these people have been entrenched in Wuling and threatened the lord's safety. This is not good."

Zhuge Liang burst out laughing: "Madam, do you think it's just Huo Zhongmiao, just these three thousand military soldiers who know how to farm, and the Jingshan Army led by Fa Xiaozhi? I'm afraid it's not enough to get people's teeth."

Huang Yueying nodded: "I know this, Huo Zhongmiao also knows it, but... the lord doesn't think so." She turned her head and faced Zhuge Liang's eyes without any retreat. Her voice was full of contempt: "He felt that although he returned from Jing Ke, he escaped from the pursuit of more than 20,000 Pang Shiyuan's army, and injured the opponent's vanguard's chief general Pang Xi on the road. This is much better than hudding in the fortress. He thought that as long as he arrived in Wuyang, with the more than 10,000 people in his hands, with the unstoppable Guan Yunchang and Zhao Zilong, he could easily defeat Deng Shizai and Fa Xiaozhi, recover Wuling, respond to Zhang Yide, and recover Changsha."

"How is that possible?" Zhuge Liang waved his hand: "Deng Shizai and Fa Xiaozhi have 7,000 people in his hands, and Shiyuan Cong Ke also brought more than 10,000 people, and the total strength is only a lot more than the lord. How can he win? And..." He sighed and looked up at the night sky with Yuelang and starry sky: "Most of the food in Wuyang has been consumed by him. Now he has to rely on transporting grain from Quanling to meet the consumption of this 10,000 troops. Military rations are a big problem. Besides, the local troops in Yizhou have been almost beaten by him. The remaining more than 10,000 people are mostly the elites of the Cao army. Whether in terms of training and equipment, they are several levels higher than our army. They are also attacked on both sides and defeated... it is inevitable." When he said the last few words, his voice was so light that only Huang Yueying could hear it.

Huang Yueying did not respond to him or lower her voice. She knew that Hu Ji and his men guarded each other well, and that he was far away, so it was impossible for anyone to hear them. She was silent for a moment and suddenly laughed: "It's a pity that the lord served as a knife for Shi Yuan, and removed Pang Xi and other potential enemies with strong strength for him, and attacked the Yizhou army, but he still thought it was really foolish."

Zhuge Liang did not refute her. He hugged his legs with his hands, his chin rested on his knees, and stared at the shaking moon shadow in the water. He suddenly felt an unpredictable sense of vain. It has been four years since he came out of Longzhong to assist Liu Bei in the winter of the 12th year of Jian'an. In these four years, except for the first year, it was still good, but the next day was worse. First, Yuan Zhi left Liu Bei because of his mother and put all the burden on his shoulders.

Then he lost the loss of a fierce battle in Haoxue, and failed. Later, Mrs. Sun was robbed, Guan Yu lost Xiling and Jiangxia County. He just won the four counties in Jiangnan, and his life was better after a few days. Because Liu Bei divided his troops into Yizhou, the four counties were overwhelmed. The supplies that had just accumulated were exhausted all of them. The four counties were dragged down by him, and the situation was out of control. He also lost Liu Bei's trust because of Ma Su's affairs and finally stood aside.

Now that Cao Chong has entered Changsha, it is very difficult to drive him out again. I am afraid that Cao Chong will have a foothold in Jiangnan after this battle, and the Yangtze River natural danger will be lost from then on. So does Liu Bei have a chance to go south to Jiaozhou? I am afraid that Sun Quan will not agree. Even if he agrees, it will be useless. Cao Chong will not let him sleep in Jiaozhou. He will definitely chase him to the shore of the sea.

"It is better to pursue the enemy with courage, and not seek fame and learn from the overlords." This is the famous saying of General Cao.

Liu Bei had no future. He did not listen to his advice and was eager to achieve success. At this point, it was just a struggle before dying. So what about himself, where would he go? Did he really choose the wrong choice when he chose him? But when he first came out, he really trusted himself. Why has it become like this now? Is it really that he is not fighting well?

The more he thought about it, the more he became hesitant.

Huang Yueying sat beside him, silently waiting for his own decision. When the night reached the sky, the wind became colder and colder. Hu Ji coughed in the distance and walked over with heavy steps: "Military advisor, it's better to go to the tent to rest in the middle of the night."

Zhuge Liang nodded, stood up, looked around on the big rock, and suddenly laughed: "The terrain here is narrow, and there is only one passage in and out. It is surrounded by water in the east and mountains in the west. It is really a good place to fight."

Hu Ji looked around after hearing this, smiled and nodded and said, "What the military advisor said is very much, but this is the territory of our army. Deng Shizai and Fa Xiaozhi are confronting the lord, so he has no courage to send people here to ambush."

Zhuge Liang laughed, jumped off the big stone, reached out to support Huang Yueying, then held Huang Yueying's hand and walked slowly towards the big tent. Before entering the tent, he looked at the mountains and forests in Zixi East intentionally or unintentionally, and his eyes flashed without any light.

…………

Deep in the forest east of Zixi, Wei Yan, with a shaved beard, sat on the big rock with a long knife, looking at Li Wei opposite him with an impossible expression. Li Wei crossed his legs, and was so inappropriate that he had been laughing, "Don't believe it, when will the news about Li Yuanji be missed? I can tell you that the horse will arrive this morning, and Jiang Gongyan is preparing a large amount of food and grass, just waiting for Zhuge Liang to return to Quanling City to get the transportation immediately."

"Even if he wants to transport grain, there is no need to let the military advisor Zhuge come back in person. The war is in full swing there..." Although Wei Yan had not been with Liu Bei for a few days, he had a good impression of Zhuge Liang.

"Don't ask me about this." Li Wei shook his hand: "I only know that Zhuge Liang came back with his wife and a few entourages. The total number of people is no more than one hundred. If you don't want to make this contribution, I will rush back to Quanling City and pull out my hands. With these guards, it's not enough for me to eat."

"Don't pull it." Wei Yan grinned and said, "I sneaked thousands of miles away, but I came here and watched you choose a tiger soldier to take down the military advisor Zhuge? Then I might as well use this master's divine knife to wipe my neck. Grandma, I finally waited for such an opportunity, how could I give it to you. But don't worry, send me a message, I will not forget you. When I come to the master to report my merits, I will definitely bring you."

"It's easy to say, since that's the case, I'll go back to the city to wait for your news. There are still three thousand soldiers in the city. If you want to seize the city, you can notify me in advance. I will kill those major generals first so that you can make another contribution." Li Wei said, laughing, got up, took a few quick steps, and disappeared into the vast night.

"Awesome, I'm really here without a trace." Wei Yan patted his thigh and praised, and said to Le Ji next to him.

"Wen Chang, what should we do?" Le Feng said excitedly. Although he was seeking Wei Yan's opinion, his excited look clearly showed his unresisting idea of ​​rushing up to capture Zhuge Liang alive.

"Xuan Yu, what's the crazy thing about Zhuge Liang?" Wei Yan said in confusion: "He actually took only one hundred people and dared to walk the more than 500 miles, and he was still camping in the four unreliable Zixi. Why didn't he rush to Huangtianpu ten miles away to rest, or rush back to Quanling City overnight?"

"What are you thinking? This is their territory. If anything can happen, he will certainly bring less people and walk faster." Le Yun looked at Wei Yan in confusion. It had been almost a month since he had been out of Yiling and had been hiding in the mountain for several days. He thought of sneaking attack on Quanling, but he had never found a chance. After finally coming up with the opportunity, he hesitated instead.

"It's so abnormal." Wei Yan shook his head: "It's so abnormal that it's a monster, and there may be problems here."

"What's the problem?"

"You said, could it be that we exposed our traces and he came to lure us?" Wei Yan raised his head and stared at Le Chi. He had been lurking these days. Although he had a lot of dry food on his body, he didn't dare to waste it. He saved food all the time. Wei Yan's face had lost a lot, his chin was pointed, and his eye sockets were also sunken.

Le Jin was stunned for a moment, thought for a moment and said, "Wen Chang, it is inevitable that we will sneak thousands of miles away, but things have reached this point. Even if he came to lure us, we have nowhere to escape. Instead of being surrounded by their army, it is better to take a risk attack. If our elite army can hit the attack and attack Quanling City quickly, there may be a glimmer of life. Otherwise, we will be dead when we stay here. We can't retreat to Yiling again. The remaining little military ration is not enough for us to return."

"Of course it is impossible to go back." Wei Yan shook his head: "Young Master should be in Changsha to fully encircle and annihilate Zhang Yide. If Liu Xuande is allowed to enter Quanling at this time, I am afraid that the young master's plan will be disappointed. Even if we can't take Quanling, we will still rush to Linxiang to block Zhang Yide's retreat. Of course, it would be best to be able to take Quanling. Most of the military rations of Liu Jun are in Quanling. Once Quanling is taken, we will cut off his descendants. No matter how many soldiers he has, he will not be fierce."

"Haha, that's exactly that." Le Chi smiled, not thinking that what Wei Yan said was difficult at all, as if it should have been like this. The two of them have been working together for a long time and have a tacit understanding of each other. They have now agreed on the plan, and one person will take 500 people down to get Zhuge Liang, and the other with the remaining 500 people as reserve troops.

Le Chi was going to Zhuge Liang, but was rejected by Wei Yan. The two fought for a while. Le Chi had never fought for Wei Yan. No matter what, Wei Yan was a general and he was a deputy general. If he really wanted to compete, he had to listen to Wei Yan.

Wei Yan patted Le Jin's shoulder and said nothing, and rushed straight to Zixi with five hundred people. He looked at the east bank of Zixi and saw a bridge. He was afraid that it would take time to explore the road, and he was afraid that the water would not be able to pass. After a little hesitation, his personal guard led Zhang Yan to jump out of the water and walked straight to the other side. The river water would be able to reach his neck.

"Sir, the water is not too deep, it should be able to pass." Zhang Yan said, picking up a big tree trunk by the stream, throwing it into the river, jumping into the water, pushing the trunk to the deepest, and holding the trunk with one hand. When Wei Yan saw that he could pass by the water, he no longer thought about anything else. He went into the water wearing iron armor. The soldiers around him followed him closely and dived into the cold water one by one. Some of them were slightly smaller, so they held the trunk in Zhang Yan's hand and helped others downstream.

It was not until all the soldiers got ashore that Zhang Yan jumped out of the water and stood in front of Wei Yan with energy. Wei Yan patted Zhang Yan's shoulder with satisfaction, pointed to the military camp in front, bent over and dragged the long sword to run. Zhang Yan followed closely with his guards, and the distance of three hundred steps was reached in a blink of an eye. There were still two hundred steps away from the camp. The soldiers guarding the camp had already discovered them and hurriedly sounded the war drum to call the police. Seeing that it had been exposed, Wei Yan no longer hid his figure. With a command, his soldiers scattered everywhere, shouting and split into several routes to attack the camp tent, swinging the long sword and chopping them when they saw people, and determined to grasp the situation before the enemy reinforcements arrived and take down the opponent's command.

Killing sounds were everywhere. Hu Ji directed his soldiers to stop them, and sent someone to inform Zhuge Liang to go first. Wei Yan was not far away in front of Hu Ji. He heard his scream and gave a wink at Zhang Yan beside him. Zhang Yan understood and suddenly exerted his strength with three guards, abandoned the soldiers around him, and rushed straight to Hu Ji. Hu Ji was shocked and shouted while retreating quickly. Unexpectedly, Zhang Yan was extremely fast, and he turned the long sword in his hand, and stepped forward seven steps in a row, killing seven people, rushed to Hu Ji, and killed Hu Ji with one knife.

In a moment, Zhuge Liang's dozens of guards fell into a pool of blood.

The situation was unexpectedly smooth, and Wei Yan was a little unimaginable. The expected enemy ambush did not appear at all. When he stood in front of Zhuge Liang's tent, he still couldn't believe it. Zhang Yan cut open the door of the tent with a knife. Zhuge Liang was intact and was sitting under the lamp reading a book. Huang Yueying sat opposite him, fiddling with a simple model of the armillary sphere just released by Xiangyang. Seeing Wei Yan in, Zhuge Liang was calm, but just looked at Wei Yan's iron armor and frowned slightly, put down the book in his hand, and surrendered with both hands.

Wei Yan was a little stunned. After a moment of silence, he waved his hand to order the guards to tie Zhuge Liang up. He didn't care about Zhuge Liang's plan. Anyway, you have fallen into my hands. Even if there is a trick, I will cut you with one arm except Liu Xuande. He hurried back to the woods with his men and his wife, and met Le Jing, who was still nervously guarding for the possible ambush. When he talked about the situation, even Le Jing was a little puzzled. This credit was too easy, so easy that it was a bit incredible.

Wei Yan and Le Jin discussed it and used the military advisor General General, Zhuge Liang, who was carrying with him, to photograph a document, and sent a few smart soldiers to disguise themselves as Liu Bei's soldiers to see Jiang Wan, assuming that Zhuge Liang was occasionally in the way and could not enter the city in time. Liu Bei was waiting in Wuyang, and the army was about to run out of food soon and asked Jiang Wan to transport a large amount of food and grass out of the city immediately. After receiving the document, Jiang Wan was a little puzzled and did not understand why Zhuge Liang had some wind and cold so that he could not get back in the past few dozen miles, but from the document

There was no flaw on the top. Except for the official documents that were not written by Zhuge Liang, everything else was true for the other papers and seals. Besides, Zhuge Liang's official documents were occasionally written by others, so Jiang Wan was not too suspicious. The next day, Mi Fang sent Mi Fang to take a large amount of food and grass out of the city with two thousand people. Only twenty miles away from the city, Mi Fang was ambushed by Wei Yan in the west of the city. More than half of the two thousand people were killed by Wei Yan, and Mi Fang was injured and captured. Then Wei Yan cooperated with Li Weili in the city and easily captured Quanling City. Jiang Wan was captured.

The process was so easy that Wei Yan and others seemed to be in a dream. Until they sat in Zhuge Liang's mansion in Quanling City, they still felt incredible. While questioning each other, they quickly sent a good news to Cao Chong in Changsha. We had already taken Quanling City and immediately went north to attack Linxiang, cut off Zhang Fei's retreat. Please rest assured.

Not only Wei Yan and others were surprised by the loss of Quanling, but even Liu Bei, who was fighting fiercely in Wuyang and Deng Ai and others, felt that it was too incredible. He was stunned for a long time and could not believe that Quanling had been lost, and even Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wan had been captured. This... this is really incredible.

Regardless of whether it was incredible or not, Quanling's loss completely sent Liu Bei into the abyss. After Pang Tong learned that Wei Yan had taken Quanling, he smiled so ugly that he immediately moved closer to Quanling and made way for Liu Bei to retreat south. At the same time, he ordered Liu Pan and Deng Ai to work together to attack Liu Bei. Liu Bei finally gave up his plan to go north to rescue Zhang Fei, and led his men to break through Liu Pan's blockade and retreat to Yulin County. Deng Ai and Liu Pan chased each other reluctantly, and won consecutive battles, beheaded thousands, and chased them to the boundary of Yulin County. When Guan Ping and others came to meet with their men and horses, they stopped. At this time, Pang Tong had already taken down Lingling County and sent Zhang Ren to stay in Quanling with four thousand men and Wei Yan to attack Linxiang. Four thousand troops were at the city. Liao Li did not dare to fight and had to seize the city and defend.

…………

Longyang City.

Zhang Da and Fan Qi faced the envoy sent by Zhang Fei to surrender, with a pale face and absent-minded face. The envoy looked arrogant and raised his chin high, and he was domineering: "The General said that as long as you offer Longyang City, he can stay and not investigate, and your official position will be restored. If you are still obsessed with it, ten thousand troops outside the city will immediately attack the city and step Longyang into the plain at any time. It will be too late for you to beg for mercy."
Chapter completed!