Chapter 646: If You Don’t Succeed, You’ll Die. Achieve Your Goal in One Fell Swoop

Refund or non-refund?

This is no longer a question of whether Hanzhong can be captured, but a question of life and death for the 200,000 troops in Shuzhong.

For Liu Bei, making this choice...has become very difficult.

At this moment, Liu Bei was not at all overjoyed at the great victory in Luoyang and the return of the Emperor. His face was filled with sorrow, and he had a document in his hand. This was the only amount of military rations sent by logistics, including grains and miscellaneous grains. Even the chaff used to feed the animals is included.

Liu Bei couldn't help but frown, raised his eyes to look at Fazheng and Zhao Yun who were left in the tent, and couldn't help but let out a faint sigh.

"Xiao Nao, Zi Long, take a look, for ten days... our army only has ten days of food left."

Ten days of food, this is an extremely sensitive number. You must know that when they crossed Mianshui from Micang Mountain to the foot of Dingjun Mountain, even if the army evacuated in a hurry, the fastest, fastest... it would not be less than ten days, which means... Is it Jin? It’s retreat! A decision must be made!

Fazheng glanced at the document casually and handed it to Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun was still looking at it carefully, but Fazheng had already opened his mouth. "If we withdraw our troops, it will take ten days... to retreat to a city and county! There, we will be able to resupply...the remaining ten days of food and grass for the army. This...is already the limit."

Liu Bei's face was calm. He had no anger. His face was filled with frustration and dejection. He said calmly: "If I remember correctly, many times over the years... I was always just a little short of the difference between Cao Cao and Cao Cao in the past. During Yuan Shao's Battle of Guandu, I led an army to raid Xuchang from Runan, but I didn't want to be defeated by Cao Ren... I had to retreat to Jingzhou and join Liu Biao in the end! Thinking about it now, I was so far behind at that time. Defeat, now...but we are forced to do this, and there is no chance of losing in a row!"

At this point, Liu Bei's mood became even more dejected, "It's sad... Maybe God has destined me that I will never be able to defeat Cao Cao in a head-on battle. Thinking about it this way, the brilliance of my second brother and his son makes me, the elder brother and uncle, more brilliant." Too incompetent!”

yes…

We are all Han troops, all advancing together, and all aiming at the strategic concept of "Longzhong pair".

But the embarrassment is...Longzhong's strategic concept was opened up by Jingzhou, but Liu Bei's side was still stagnant and made no progress.

Of course, this will not affect the friendship between Liu Bei and Guan Yu, but Liu Bei will inevitably be labeled as "incompetent" and will be poked in the back by people all over the world. He will be under great pressure!

Thinking of this, Liu Bei couldn't help but close his eyes, "Sometimes I wonder if I am too eager to attack Hanzhong from the north this time. Shuzhong has just been decided, and there have been years of war. The food and grass in the treasury are already stretched thin, but I desperately want to attack Hanzhong. Hanzhong, is it because the second brother and his son are too dazzling, which makes even me... feel unprecedented pressure, so... I made this wrong decision, alas... that's it... the matter has come to a point where I have to make a choice time! But it is also the time when I, Liu Bei, become a laughing stock!”

No comparison, no harm!

Guan Yu and Guan Lin were too dazzling, which also made Liu Bei... too bleak.

As he chanted these words, Zhao Yun pursed his lips, not knowing what to say.

Fazheng heard the attitude of his good friend Liu Bei. It seemed that he was planning to... withdraw the army!

call…

Fazheng couldn't help but sigh. After thinking for a moment, he couldn't help but persuade: "My lord has already made a decision about this situation. Logically speaking, I shouldn't give any more advice, but a story suddenly came into my mind. , I won’t be happy if I don’t vomit…”

"It's okay to be filial and honest!" Liu Bei smiled helplessly, but still motioned for Fazheng to continue speaking.

Fazheng raised his head, "In the past, during the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao also encountered the same predicament as today's lord. The stalemate lasted for a long time, and food and support were exhausted... At that time, Cao Cao also had the intention to retreat. It was his two counselors Guo Cao. Jia Guo Fengxiao and Xun Yu and Xun Wenruo put forward the theory of "ten wins and ten defeats" and "four wins and four defeats" respectively, in order to persuade Cao Cao to persist and wait for the situation to change. It was precisely because of this that he waited for Xu You's surrender. , burning Wuchao, establishing the final victory of Wei Wei in the Central Plains and the Northern Territory! "

At this point, Fazheng put his hands behind his back and continued, "Actually, 'ten wins and ten losses' and 'four wins and four losses' are just words. I can also use these words like Guo Fengxiao and Xun Wenruo." Like this, I told my lord countless... to persuade him to persevere. Similarly, the reason why Cao Cao was able to occupy the nine states in the world was not entirely due to luck. This kind of game and persistence at critical moments are even more precious. !”

Well…

From Fazheng's words, Liu Bei understood what he meant.

He pondered for a moment, and then asked solemnly: "Do you still want to insist on being filial?"

"I'm not sure, but..." Fazheng's tone became more firm, "But one thing is, if Cao Cao retreated even one step during the Battle of Guandu, then it would not be Cao Mengde who is fighting for the world with my lord now. , but Yuan Benchu!”

boom…

Boom!

There were not many words in what Fa Zheng said, and his speech was not fast, but when it was conveyed to Liu Bei's ears, it was like the roar of five thunders, and the rolling thunder from the sky!

persist in.

All the words are gathered into one sentence, then there are only two words - persistence!

So? Here comes the problem!

Does perseverance necessarily equal a turnaround?

What if there is no transfer?

This is a bet...

It’s a huge gamble with one’s wealth and one’s life!

"Takanao...you..."

Liu Bei's expression became more complicated, as if he was still hesitating between retreating and not retreating.

No one wanted to defeat Cao Cao more than him, but at the same time...no one knew better than him that all this was hard-won now. Whether the childhood dream of "a carriage with a feathered canopy" was within reach or was gradually fading away, it all depended on this decision.

"Zilong, what do you think?" Liu Bei turned his gaze to Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun pondered for a moment, and instead of answering directly, he sighed faintly: "I heard that Cao thief has also arrived in Guanzhong. This battle has inevitably become a decisive battle between the lord and Cao thief!"

At the moment this sentence was chanted...

Liu Bei's eyes, which were originally ambiguous, suddenly shone with brilliance, and even his big ears couldn't help but tremble violently.

If the opponent's main general was Xiahou Yuan, then... Liu Bei might be able to accept retreat, failure, and inaction in his mind, but if the opponent was Cao Cao...

Then...

The person he admired most in his life was Cao Cao!

The person he envied most in his life was also Cao Cao!

The person he hated the most in his life... the one he hated to the bone, was none other than Cao Cao!

You know, once... when they were young, things that Liu Bei could not get no matter how hard he tried, were always so easy for Cao Cao.

You know, once, when he and his family Liu Yuanqi and his good brother Gongsun Zan were studying Taoism with Lu Zhi in the Qishi Mountain outside Luoyang City, the rumors about Luoyang City that he, a country bumpkin, heard the most... were also about Cao Cao!

He easily entered the Imperial College, became a disciple of Qiao Xuan, was taught by Cai Yong, learned military tactics from Duan Ji, and met powerful families such as Sima Fang!

It would have been fine if he had entered Zhang Rang's mansion with double halberds and assassinated Zhang Rang and got away with it, and the case would have ended up in vain.

It would have been fine if he had cast five-color big sticks to beat the powerful, but in the end, someone could still settle this matter for him!

Reputation, yes, for Liu Bei, even if he was sincere and interpreted the word "benevolence" to the extreme, he could finally earn the reputation, but for Cao Cao, it was easy to get.

Moved to Yanzhou and was elected by the public to become the governor of Yanzhou;

Haha, wandering for half a lifetime... Liu Bei was struggling to find a place to settle down, but Cao Cao got it so easily.

This is unfair!

Family background, worldly affairs, status, and connections.

In this world, how can there be fairness for a "grassroots" like Liu Bei?

But at the same time, for a small person like Liu Bei, the so-called standard of counterattack is to use his own way to find his own way, to trample all those who originally stepped on him and who he could not reach.

It is also based on this...

Finally, there is another head-on confrontation with Cao Cao, and he will never give in.

In fact, the Battle of Hanzhong in history was indeed like this. In this duel, Liu Bei was completely crazy. In the decisive battle with Cao Cao, he braved the arrows and rushed forward without caring about anything. If Fa Zheng had not stopped him and blocked him in front of him, Liu Bei in history would have died here.

In fact, in Liu Bei's view, this battle was never a Han flag or a symbol. What he stood up was... his back that he could not stand up straight in front of Cao Cao all these years!

"Pass on my military order, send ten schools of soldiers to go fishing and hunting nearby, and collect food and grass from various tribes here!" Liu Bei's voice became firm, "In addition... tell Kong Ming... the supply of food and grass in this battle is related to the final success or failure. If he can deliver food, he will be the first hero in the attack on Wei. If he can't..."

At this point, Liu Bei's expression dimmed a little, "If not, then I and the soldiers of the three armies may only be souls here forever."

Inexplicably, Liu Bei's last sentence suddenly became sad and tragic.

This is... to achieve success in one battle;

This is also a blow that will kill you if you don't succeed!

…

…

At this time, in the government office in Luoyang City.

A map was spread on the table in the study. Guan Lin was concentrating with his eyes closed in the study, as if his thoughts had already drifted far away.

When Fu Shiren hurried over, Lu Xun was also there, as if... Lu Xun had just arrived not long ago. Seeing Guan Lin in deep thought, he found a place to sit down and patiently waited for Guan Lin to come back to his senses.

Fu Shiren, on the other hand, was careless. As soon as he came in, he shouted directly, "Third brother, those merchants brought news. They have... have..."

At this point, Lu Xun hurriedly stood up, stepped forward quickly, and made a "silence" gesture with his index finger.

"What's the matter?" Fu Shiren scratched his head and asked curiously, "What? Can't you talk about urgent matters?"

"Yunqi is thinking about something..." Lu Xun hurriedly explained, "I see his expression, thinking quite seriously, maybe... he is setting up a certain plan again... At this critical moment of thinking, it is better not to interrupt, let him think it through..."

Lu Xun deliberately lowered his voice very low...

But still, Guan Lin's thoughts were interrupted. He slowly opened his eyes and turned to face the two people. "Boyan, my elder brother is here... He said he has something urgent?"

After Guan Lin asked this, Fu Shiren spoke frankly, "Yes, those merchants sent pigeons to send back news that they have passed Shangyong County and arrived at Hanshui River. If there are no accidents, the food will reach Liu Huangshu at the foot of Dingjun Mountain within five days!"

Five days?

This time point made Guan Lin count on his fingers. He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he had calculated it before saying, "Five days... That is the last day agreed between these merchants and me..."

Lu Xun also knew this matter in detail. He said: "No matter what day it is, it will be beneficial for the overall situation if this batch of military rations can be delivered to Uncle Liu."

After saying this, Lu Xun asked curiously: "But, I am curious, what was Yunqi thinking about just now? Was it also the battle between Uncle Liu and the anti-Wei cavalry general Xiahou Yuan in Dingjun Mountain?"

"No..." Guan Lin waved his hand to deny Lu Xun's guess. He said lightly, "In fact, since Adou cut off the sale of Shu brocade and transported all the Shu brocade to Jingzhou... I was sure that food and grass would not be a hindrance to my uncle! Frankly speaking, I never worry about food and grass!"

"Then..."

This voice was chanted by Fu Shiren and Lu Xun at the same time. It seemed that they wanted to know...what was Guan Lin still thinking about?

At this time, Guan Lin's voice came out again, "In fact, what I am most worried about is that after my uncle solves the food problem, how should we fight in Hanzhong?"

"Didn't Yunqi give you "Yun Biechuan" to General Zhao Zilong? According to what you said in the past, it records Xiahou Yuan's weaknesses. It seems not difficult to use his weaknesses to defeat the enemy in one blow!"

Lu Xun asked back.

Guan Lin shook his head directly, "If this Dingjun Mountain battle was my first battle since my debut, and the anti-Wei side didn't recognize the characteristics of my strategy, then... maybe "Yun Bie Chuan", or perhaps the use of Xiahou Yuan's weaknesses would be effective, but now... they have suffered too much at my hands, Cao Cao, Jia Xu, Cheng Yu... are all extremely smart people, and they learn from their mistakes. I am worried... that the previous failures have been enough to help them predict the characteristics of my strategy, and they will think... I will take advantage of Xiahou Yuan's weaknesses, and then... counterattack."

This...

With Guan Lin's words, Lu Xun and Fu Shiren couldn't help but widen their eyes at the same time.

It was as if a sentence was written on their cheeks.

——This is a high-end game!

Indeed, if it is true as Guan Lin said, Cao Cao, Jia Xu, and Cheng Yu, after suffering so many losses, are well aware of Guan Lin's strategic characteristics with the support of so many failed battle samples, then... they will definitely think of this, thinking that Guan Lin will take advantage of Xiahou Yuan's weaknesses.

Then... then...

"Gulp", Lu Xun swallowed his mouthfuls and said.

Fu Shiren scratched his head and said, "This... can't be the case! That Cao thief... is so smart? A few fires... didn't burn them to death, they all became smarter!"

"I'd rather believe it than not... so..." Guan Lin blinked, and then his expression became serious, "Bo Yan, big brother... it's just right that you are here, let's simulate the sand table of the Dingjun Mountain battle again, according to... Cao Cao predicted that I would use Xiahou Yuan's weakness to counter the situation, let's go through it all——"

Guan Lin said this meticulously and loudly.

His expression also became extremely serious.

In fact, Guan Lin agreed with Fu Shiren's unintentional words. Nowadays... those who rebelled against Wei, especially the counselors, who were not burned to death by the fire, must have become smarter. This... is the price of blood!

…

…

On a mountain along the Han River, Deng Yang stood on the top of the mountain and looked at the place.

Beside him stood Cao Xiu, who had a broken arm.

Since Cao Xiu became disabled, he was sent by Xiahou Yuan to Shangyong as the prefect, firstly to recuperate, and secondly…with his own people in charge of the entire Shangyong, Xiahou Yuan could rest assured about the flank of the Hanzhong battlefield.

At this moment, Cao Xiu looked solemn, and his tiger eyes stared at the merchants who were transporting bags of goods to the merchant ships beside the Han River.

After a while, Cao Xiu finally spoke: "How do you know that they are not transporting business goods? But grain?"

"Perhaps, this is difficult for ordinary people, but it is very simple for me to judge these..." Deng Yang raised his mouth, "For any goods transported on trucks and carriages, I can roughly judge what they are transporting by just looking at the wheel tracks, wheel marks, and the height of the ship's sinking. These... are easy for me."

Deng Yang is greedy for money and lustful, but... he is not stupid.

He will not ignore the goods transported just because of the large amount of money sent by merchants.

On the contrary, all corrupt officials... are shrewd, and are sensitive to grain, goods, money, women... all of them!

He just took a look at the merchant team and was sure... they were transporting grain.

And at this sensitive period, they transported grain across the Han River to Mi Cang Road.

Haha... their activities? It's not obvious yet.

"If it's really food, then Xuanmao (Deng Yang) will be the first to make a contribution--"

Cao Xiu curled his lips, and then waved his hand decisively.

"Everyone, follow me to search this caravan--"

"If they dare to resist or disobey, they will be killed without mercy--"

With Cao Xiu's words, more than a thousand soldiers quickly went down the mountain and headed towards the Han River merchant ship.

Deng Yang... Only he raised his mouth slightly, revealing an intriguing smile.

…

…

Chang'an City, inside the temporary palace.

The huge sand table of the "Hanzhong battlefield" unfolded in front of Cao Cao.

The towering Yangping Pass, the towering Dingjun Mountain, the vast Hanzhong Plain, every defense, every checkpoint, all flashed in Cao Cao's tiger eyes.

At this time, Cheng Yu walked into the room.

He immediately saluted. "Greetings, my king!"

But he added a question directly: "I don't know why the king summoned me?"

As his voice fell, Cao Cao did not reply directly, but pointed to Dingjun Mountain, Yangping Pass, and the clay figurine that symbolized Xiahou Yuan's troops.

Cao Cao's voice was slow, but every word was so clear and powerful.

"Zhongde, I was thinking, if Liu Bei solved the food problem, how would he fight in the battle of Dingjun Mountain?"

Ah...

Cheng Yu didn't expect that Cao Cao asked... was... this!

You know, according to Jia Xu and Xiahou Yuan's description, Liu Bei could not solve the food problem, which was also the key to their counterattack and victory.

"Why is your Majesty asking this?"

Cheng Yu's words made Cao Cao's tiger eyes suddenly overflow with anger, "I have suffered too many losses from Guan Si. Too many incredible things have happened to him, too many desperate situations have been saved, so... I have learned to be smart, I have improved, and I have to learn to take one step and look three steps ahead when playing against him!"

Speaking of this, Cao Cao continued, "Liu Bei has always been defeated by me. Haha, I am not afraid of him, but I am only worried about Guan Si. Guan Si is best at taking advantage of the weaknesses of our generals. The commander of Dingjun Mountain is Miaocai (Xiahou Yuan), Zhongde... Tell me, what weakness of Miaocai will be exploited by Guan Si!"

Cao Cao's words, every word, every phrase hits the nail on the head...

It seems that he is not doubting these words, but is certain... He is certain that if Liu Bei can pass the food barrier, Guan Lin will definitely take advantage of his good brother Xiahou Yuan's weakness!

Humph, he had too many brothers, too many clansmen, too many brave generals, all of whom died in Guan Lin's way.

With so much blood, Cao Cao... even Cao Cao in his old age, was forced to... grow up!

…

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