Chapter 286

"Hua Hua Mulan, stop pretending; you also got a reward just now, right? Face the wind."

Hua Hua Mulan was shocked.

"Captain, spare my life!"

At the same time,

The people of the Xia Kingdom also received corresponding rewards, and their lives were getting better and better.

Lu Su returned to Chang'an and brought a special guest by the way.

Lü Bu, who retreated from Taking Xuzhou, was not willing to be taken in by Liu Biao, so he simply let Lu Su take Lü Bu and his three thousand people away.

Lü Bu really had no choice but to defect to Liu Bei.

He didn't feel good in his heart.

Thinking back then, he and Liu Bei were on par; how long had it been, and Liu Bei had become the largest feudal lord in the world, even more powerful than Dong Zhuo back then, with four commanderies!

He was back to the starting point, or rather, even worse!

Chen Gong said in a low voice,

"My lord, Liu Bei is about to face a great war and urgently needs talent; we can take the opportunity to ask him for troops and grain."

Lü Bu's eyes lit up; he still had a chance!

Liu Bei led a group of people out of the city to welcome Lü Bu, and also accompanying him was Lü Lu Lingqi.

That night,

Liu Bei held a banquet to entertain Lü Bu and his party; to be honest, Liu Bei didn't look highly upon Lü Bu's current subordinates.

The only one who was okay was Chen Gong, who was about the same as Xu Shu.

"Marquis Wen, we haven't seen each other for several years."

Lü Bu sighed.

"My temples are a bit gray, yet Lord Liu Xuande is still so young."

Lü Bu was in his early forties and had been depressed recently, so he did look a bit old.

Liu Bei had system rewards, was victorious in every battle, and had young girls to accompany him, so his mentality was very young, looking like he was still around twenty-five.

They had drunk more than ten rounds of wine.

Chen Gong saw that the atmosphere was about right and cupped his hands.

"Lord Liu Xuande, Ding Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Sun Ce are wolves and tigers, actually coming to attack you; my lord is willing to help you with all his strength."

Liu Bei heard Chen Gong's words and knew their thoughts; three thousand troops to help him was naturally not a sincere defection, but wanting to rely on him to grow, and could turn back at any time.

Zhang Fei laughed loudly.

"Lü Bu now has three thousand troops; how can he help my elder brother with all his strength? My elder brother is not Tao Tao Qian and is younger than you!"

Zhang Fei's meaning was very clear; his elder brother would absolutely tearfully inherit Lü Bu's legacy!

Lü Bu snorted; he was annoyed looking at Zhang Fei, who always exposed people's scars.

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Other generals under Liu Bei also looked at Lü Bu with unkind eyes.

This Lü Bu's reputation was too bad; he killed two foster fathers and plotted Tao Tao Qian's Taking Xuzhou; coming to Guanzhong now, his purpose was self-evident.

Liu Bei didn't lack fierce generals; adding one Lü Bu wouldn't have much effect, but instead, he would have to guard against him at all times and destroy the good atmosphere.

Liu Bei smiled.

"Marquis Wen, Gongtai, I have the natural barrier of Tong Pass; I don't fear Ding Yuan Shao and Cao Cao."

Lü Bu snorted.

"That is to say, Lord Liu Xuande is unwilling to take us in!"

Chen Gong...

Liu Bei hadn't finished speaking, yet you killed the conversation... this lord.

Liu Bei didn't mind.

"Marquis Wen, I do have a place for you."

Lü Bu? Liu Bei really intended to take him in?

Liu Bei smiled.

"Zhang Lu is living very happily in the Western Regions; he has taken five cities, obtained one hundred thousand people, and enjoys endless wine and beauties of the Western Regions."

Lü Bu?

"You want me to go to the Western Regions?"

To be honest, before Liu Bei said it, Lü Bu really hadn't thought about this.

He had no ambition left, and going to the Western Regions to be a local emperor seemed like a good choice.

Liu Bei had someone take out a map.

"To the west of the Western Regions, there is a vast world; the barbarians there have limited combat power; if Marquis Wen goes there, it will be like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood; you will surely take more cities than Zhang Lu."

Lü Bu and Chen Gong looked at each other; going to the Western Regions was equivalent to having nothing to do with competing for the Central Plains.

But reality was right in front of them; they had long lost the strength to compete for the Central Plains.

Liu Bei gave Lü Bu five thousand horses and allowed him to recruit a certain number of troops, and then let Guanqiu Sun Jian help Lü Bu gain a foothold in the Western Regions.

It could be considered giving Lü Bu a good destination; as for how he ends up, it depends on the Flying General's own ability.

Lü Bu was about to leave and looked at Liu Bei's son in Lü Lu Lingqi's arms.

"Daughter, you must work hard; let my grandson become Liu Bei's heir; our Lü family didn't lose either!"

Lü Lu Lingqi had black lines on her head.

"Father, you just be a good king in the Western Regions; don't think about these things so much."

Lü Bu clenched his fists.

"No, I am a king; I didn't lose!" Yi.

After sending Lu Bu to the Western Regions to be king and hegemon,

Liu Bei gathered everyone to discuss matters,

"Everyone, Ding Yuan Shao sent twenty thousand troops, Cao Cao sent fifteen thousand, and Sun Ce sent six thousand, totaling forty-one thousand troops to crusade against us; in addition, Kebineng also gathered one hundred thousand troops from various Western Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes to advance into Yanmen Commandery."

"Tell me, what should we do?"

"Wenhe, you speak first."

Jia Xu looked at the map,

"My lord, Cao Cao is using the vertical alliance strategy, gathering a large army to attack, intending to crush us; it can be said that this is a confrontation between the Central Plains and Guanzhong. Back then, the six states formed a vertical alliance against the strong Qin, and there were several battles at Hangu Pass, with victories and losses on both sides."

"Our army has three battlefields to choose from; one is that our army can advance to Luoyang, relying on the strong city of Luoyang and Hulao Pass to hold out against the Guandong warlords, just like Dong Zhuo dealt with the eighteen warlords."

Liu Bei shook his head,

"Luoyang is still a ruin; our army is mobilizing over two hundred thousand, and the supply pressure is huge. The main force of the Allied forces is very close to Yuzhou and Jizhou; we may not be able to outlast them in consumption."

Jia Xu pointed to Emperor Hongnong Commandery again,

"My lord sent Lu Xun and Xu Sheng to garrison fields near Emperor Hongnong County; that is the Hangu Pass of the Qin Dynasty. The Qin State relied on Hangu Pass to repel several Allied armies of the six states; it can be called a natural danger."

Those unfamiliar with the terrain all had their eyes light up,

But Guo Jia shook his head,

"The Hangu Pass at this time has lost the terrain of a dangerous pass. The silt of the Yellow River has washed down for years, the riverbed has sunk, and a large beach has appeared on the north side of Chousang Plain. The Allied forces can completely bypass Hangu Pass and enter Guanzhong."

"Under the washing of the muddy water, Chousang Plain is no longer steep, and the large army can easily cross the pass along the plateau."

Jia Xu pointed to a point south of the bend of the Yellow River on the map,

"Finally, it is to hold Tong Pass, using the Loess Plateau as a barrier; there is the Yellow River to the north, the Qinling Mountains to the south, the Tong River and Forbidden Ditch to the west, and the Far-Looking Ditch to the east."

If the Allied forces want to pass Tong Pass, there is only one narrow road, Huangxiangban, to walk; even if there were a million troops, they could not deploy."

Pang Tong interrupted,

"Tong Pass is four hundred miles away from Luoyang, greatly stretching the supply line of the Guandong warlords; our army can send troops to raid their food supply route, and after a long time, their troops will definitely retreat."

Fa Zheng frowned,

"Our army holding Tong Pass can certainly hold it, but Cao Cao and Ding Yuan Shao can turn to attack Hedong Commandery, forcibly crossing Pujin Ferry, bypassing Tong Pass to attack Guanzhong."

Liu Bei nodded secretly; this was the route Cao Cao took to attack the Allied forces of Ma Chao and Han Sui in history.

Everyone felt a bit uncomfortable; it seemed that every place had advantages and disadvantages.

— Author's Notes —

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