Chapter 523: Yuan Shao: Aman is too insidious

Xu You cursed inwardly.

"Aman first proposed Tongguan, letting my lord attack it, and the remaining attack on Wuguan was definitely left for him. Truly impossible to guard against!"

Yuan Shao only then realized.

"Who is the defending general of Wuguan?"

"Li Yan from Nanyang and Huo Jun from Nanjun are leading twelve thousand troops to garrison it."

Yuan Shao?? These two people were unknown; he really didn't know them.

Cao Cao explained.

"These two are both talents Liu Bei recruited in Jingzhou. Li Yan was previously the Magistrate of Lantian County and governed Lantian quite well. Huo Jun's brother, Huo Du, was a General of the Household of Liu Biao, and he has always guarded Wuguan without any performance."

Once everyone heard this, it seemed they were no better than Lu Xun. Lu Xun at least came from a powerful clan.

If they knew like Liu Bei that Huo Jun was a defensive expert no worse than Hao Zhao, they wouldn't have looked down on him so much.

Cheng Yu cupped his hands.

"Gentlemen, Wuguan is surrounded by mountains and water, a natural barrier, with high cliffs and deep valleys, narrow and difficult to travel. Only a small number of troops can be used to attack."

It meant that Wuguan was also not easy to attack.

Cao Cao laughed.

"Wuguan is only separated from the north of Nanyang Commandery by my Xuxian; let me attack this pass."

Although Yuan Shao had objections, he couldn't take all the advantages.

Zhou Gongjin wanted to attack Wuguan but was afraid of heavy losses. Their territory was too far away; even if they entered Guanzhong, they could only seize people and couldn't really control Guanzhong.

It can be said that Sun Ce came this time mainly to defeat Liu Bei strategically and curb his development, not like Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, who wanted to take over Liu Bei's territory.

Sun Ce, however, wanted to avenge his defeat by Liu Bei last time, wash away his shame, and head to Hedong.

In the end, Cao Cao sent Xia Houyuan to lead thirty thousand troops and also conscripted thirty thousand garrison troops from Yexian, totaling sixty thousand troops to attack Wuguan.

Cao Cao also said.

"Alliance Leader, Liu Bei has newly acquired the land of Yizhou, and the Dongzhou scholar Pang Xi may not be convinced. Why not send someone to lobby Pang Xi and appoint him as the Governor of Yizhou?"

Yuan Shao nodded. This is feasible!

Cao Cao also suggested sending people to lobby the Qiang people of Liangzhou, Yang Qiu and others, to let them take the opportunity to rise up and take back Liangzhou.

Yuan Shao agreed while secretly being vigilant.

"This old guy Aman is indeed insidious! His ghost ideas are really numerous!"

After discussing these matters,

Yuan Shao stood up tall.

"Gentlemen, rest early today. Tomorrow our army will march to Hedong and exterminate Liu Bei!"

The great army marched mightily from Suanzao, passed Hulao, and went through Luoyang.

Gao Gan and Jiang Yiqu led troops to advance toward Hongnong, heading straight for Tongguan!

Yuan Shao also ordered Guo Tu, Wen Chou, and others to lead fifty thousand troops to cross the Yellow River from Baima Ferry first, and detour from Henei Commandery to reach Maojin Ferry to cover the great army's crossing.

Liu Bei saw no opportunity, so he didn't intercept the coalition at Maojin Ferry, letting the soldiers build camps with peace of mind!

Liu Biao received the coalition's request to borrow the path. Although he cursed loudly at home, he agreed.

He didn't need to have a conflict; you guys go fight yourselves.

He just ordered Wen Pin to hold Wancheng firmly and closely monitor Cao Cao's great army.

Cai Mao quickly sent someone to secretly send a letter to Liu Bei!

Liu Bei's army set up camps relying on sand dunes and mountains, about twenty li wide from north to south.

High watchtowers were built in the camp, and observation towers were set up at the top of the towers to observe the enemy camp's situation. Thousands of flags and countless tents were a spectacular sight!

Guan Yu and Xu Shu arrived with twenty thousand troops to rendezvous.

Liu Bei went ten li out of the camp to welcome them.

Guan Yu dismounted. "Big Brother!"

Liu Bei tightly held Guan Yu's hand and praised Guan Yu as a 'Beautiful-Bearded Gentleman'!

Guan Yu was called a 'handsome guy' by his big brother, and his mood was very good, but he didn't dare to be arrogant in front of Liu Bei.

"Big Brother is too kind. Big Brother, you are getting younger and younger; I cannot compare."

Zhang Fei also laughed from the side.

"So I'm not the only one who thinks so; Big Brother is really young!"

"Big Brother can even drive the River God; is he a god from heaven reincarnated?"

Zhang Fei's worship of Liu Bei had reached an extreme.

Liu Bei laughed loudly.

"Third Brother, your flattery skills have grown!"

He held Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's hands and returned to the camp.

Everyone had arrived.

Liu Bei began to hold a meeting in the tent.

"Gentlemen, Yuan Shao will arrive with troops tomorrow. Excluding the troops attacking Tongguan and Wuguan, they still have three hundred and twenty thousand, which is double our army."

Zhang Fei said carelessly.

"Big Brother, tomorrow I will capture that Alliance Leader Yuan in one charge!"

Liu Bei laughed.

"If that's the case, Guan Yu and I will follow you to charge."

Everyone laughed. Zhang Fei's bragging skills were quite remarkable.

However, this laugh also eased the tense atmosphere in the tent.

After everyone finished laughing, Liu Bei said with a serious expression.

"The coalition is double our army. This time Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Sun Ce have brought out the elites of their families.

Yuan Shao's large shields, strong crossbows, and chariot formations,

Cao Cao's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and Tiger Guards,

Sun Ce's Danyang and Lujiang elites (the Jie-fan Army behind)."

The tent was slightly heavy.

Liu Bei looked around, his eyes burning.

"Of course, our elite troops are only more, not less: the Trapping Battalion, the First-Ascent Battalion, the White-Ear Soldiers, the Imperial Iron Cavalry, the Blade-Cutting Soldiers, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, and your respective elite troops."

Guo Fengxiao also said.

"Troops are valued for quality, not quantity. Although the coalition's numbers are more than double ours, the gap in elite quality compared to our army is large; it's just a waste of grain."

Guan Yu nodded.

"The coalition claims eight hundred thousand. If they are defeated by our fifteen thousand, I'll see where Yuan Shao and Cao Cao can put their faces!"

Everyone laughed again.

"Tomorrow the coalition will be new; our army must give them a show of force."

Liu Bei stood up tall.

"Tomorrow, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, Ma Chao, Pang De, Taishi Ziyi, Zhang Wenyuan, E Huan, and Xu Huang shall follow me into battle!"

"The rest of the soldiers shall hold the camp firmly!"

"Understood!"

Early the next morning, ===== CHAPTER 524 =====