Chapter 289: Guan Yu mobilizes his troops to make the tigers fight In Runan, in Pingyu City, it is said that since Liu Bei and Cao Cao exchanged cities that day, Guan Yu has been in charge of Pingyu. This Pingyu is also different from the Pingyu in later generations. It is located in the northern plains. This place is located upstream of the water filter and has a very important geographical location. Therefore, after Guan Yu arrived here, he began to train his troops and fight against the bandits everywhere. In order to guard against the invasion of Cao's army in the west, he built many inns and established dozens of post offices. He also manufactured more weapons, stored up more food and fodder, and repaired cities. He was assisted by Luo Jun, Yan Xiang and others. The two of them governed the people while he governed the army. The three of them divided the work and cooperated with each other to fight bandits everywhere, register the people and recruit talented people. When Liu Bei led Zhang Fei and Qin Zhen to fight in the south and the north, Guan Yu recruited Hao Pu, Yuan Ba, Yuan Min and others. Together with Fu Rong recommended by Qin Zhen, and his original subordinates Wen Ji, Liu Pi, Gong Du and others, the two countries had both civil and military power and were quite powerful.

Although Guan Yu rarely goes into battle under Qin Zhen's special arrangement, his current condition is good for him. Because Guan Yu was not an ordinary general, he was also a talented commander and was suitable to be in charge of a region. It’s just that before, because Liu Bei’s territory was not large, it was difficult for him to display his talents. Now that I am stationed in Runan, although there are no big battles to fight, I am in charge of a place after all, and I can do my best. If there was one bad thing, it was that the soldiers under his command trained all day long but had no battles to fight, and his generals were quite resentful. In order to appease the generals, Guan Yu took them out of the city for training. In this way, on the one hand, the excess energy of the generals can be consumed, and on the other hand, the experience of the soldiers can be accumulated. Unexpectedly, one day when he had just waited for the soldiers to return from training, he saw Luo Jun rushing into the mansion. Although Guan Yu looked down on scholars, he respected Yan Xiang and Luo Jun. Seeing Luo Jun like this, he couldn't help but wonder: "Where did Luo Xiang come from, and why does he look like this?" Luo Jun was in a hurry, but when he saw Guan Yu, he said happily: "I was just about to look for you, Lord, when a secret letter arrived from Xu County, saying that Cao Cao intended to move the capital!" "There is another person who claims to be under the command of General Dong Cheng, saying that he has received a secret decree from the emperor to kill the thieves, and asks you to lead the army to defend the king." "This matter is of great importance, and I dare not take the initiative, so I come to report to you, my Lord!" When Guan Yu heard this, he thought to himself that he had not heard of any conflict between Cao Cao and the emperor. Why did Cao Cao suddenly want to move the capital, and why did the emperor issue a secret decree to execute him? In doubt, he asked Luo Jun to hand over the secret letter for him to see. This secret letter was written by Wu Shuo, and the reason was not explained in detail. It was only said that the king's uncle Dong Cheng had received a secret decree and summoned heroes from all over the world to destroy the thief Cao. When Guan Yu saw this, his eyes suddenly twitched, he stroked his beard and said thoughtfully: "Since there is a secret decree, where is the decree?"

Luo Junzhi said no, there was only one messenger staying in their residence. When Guan Yu heard this, he frowned and ordered: "In that case, you can call the messenger to see us!" "This matter is of great importance. Please call Mr. Yan to discuss it with us!" When Luo Jun saw this, he hurried to the guesthouse to call the envoy back, and Yan Xiang arrived at the same time. "I don't know what you want to tell me, but I am busy with some important official business." Guan Yu was not angry when he heard this, but said bluntly: "Because someone in the capital came to report that Cao Cao had moved the capital, the emperor wanted me to lead the army into the capital." "It is unknown whether this matter is true or not, so I asked you to come and take part in the discussion!" When Yan Xiang heard this, he frowned and sat down below Guan Yu. After a while, Luo Jun and a scholar walked into the hall. After the formalities, Guan Yu asked directly for details, and the scholar replied quickly. Hearing that Cao Cao was hunting in Xutian and disturbing the emperor, Guan Yu opened his eyes and said in a deep voice: "How dare Cao the thief deceive the emperor? It's a pity that I am not in the court, otherwise I would have killed him and eliminated this harm!" While he was cursing, Yan Xiang stood up and asked in detail: "The envoy is here to summon us, but I don't know where the imperial edict is. If there is no imperial edict, how can we act?" When the messenger heard this question, he shook his head and said bitterly: "Sir, you may not know that the defense of Xu County is now under the control of Cao Cao." "Even in the imperial city, the emperor has no freedom." "Although the imperial edict is in the hands of the emperor's uncle, it is a secret plot. How dare we carry it?" "Let alone taking the imperial edict out of the capital, even if I came here this time, it was also for the purpose of visiting relatives." "After meeting the general today, I must return, or else there will be disaster!" After explaining this, Yan Xiang nodded and asked someone to take the messenger away to rest. Then he said to Guan Yu: "I see that this person doesn't look fake, so what he said is true!" "Cao Cao must have deceived the emperor and angered him, so he did this!" Guan Yu was already angry, and when he heard this, he said angrily: "Cao is such a reckless traitor, we must attack him. Since there is an imperial edict, I can send troops to attack Xu!" But as soon as he said this, Luo Jun and Yan Xiang tried to dissuade him. "Your Excellency, this cannot be done. Although this matter is somewhat credible, it is still undecided." "Moving troops now would easily alert the enemy and would be useless!" "That's right. Although you have entrusted the affairs of Runan to me, this matter is of great importance. How can we act without reporting it?"

"The General who conquers the East is in Shouchun right now. If we advance by water, we can reach him in a few days!" "Moving the capital is no small matter. Our army must eliminate the bandits, and we won't waste a few days." "We can mobilize our troops as soon as General Zhengdong gives the order!" Faced with the two people's repeated dissuasion, Guan Yu hesitated for a moment and said: "But if my brother's letter doesn't come back, and Cao Cao moves the capital, what should we do?" The problem now is that they don’t know the process of Cao Cao’s capital relocation. If Liu Bei had not replied yet, Cao Cao would move Liu Xie to Chang'an first. If they mobilize their troops at that time, Cao Cao will take Liu Xie as a hostage, and they might become hesitant. Luo Jun and Yan Xiang knew this, looked at each other, and then Yan Xiang said: "Your Excellency may as well deploy the troops in the name of training and wait for your letter." "If the letter arrives first, we will act according to it. If the letter does not arrive, we will send troops to protect the emperor first!" "As long as the emperor is safe, the matter of eliminating the thieves can be put off!" After hearing what he said, Guan Yu nodded in agreement, and then wrote a letter himself and asked someone to send it to Shouchun. Fortunately, the ice and snow had melted and the river channel had already opened up, so the envoys sailed along the river. In less than two days, they reached the main vein of the Huai River, and in just one day, they reached Shouchun City. At this time, Liu Bei, Qin Zhen, Zhuge Liang and others were discussing the strategy of advancing. This strategy of advancing is naturally not aimed at attacking Cao, but at Sun Ce! Because last year they had conquered more than half of Sun Ce's army and surrounded him in Wujun. What we are going to fight next is not a clever battle like the previous one, but a battle to capture the city! After all, as Sun Ce's territory became smaller and smaller, their advantages became greater and greater, but Sun Ce's troops were also gradually concentrated. At this time, Wu County, a small county, had assembled more than 40,000 soldiers and horses! Sun Ce only controlled ten cities, and if the forces were divided evenly, each city would have four thousand people. If they wanted to use a brute force approach and capture the cities one by one, by the time Wujun was captured, their troops would have been almost exhausted. Therefore, how to completely deal with Sun Ce is also a very troublesome problem. So as soon as the weather warmed up, Liu Bei took Qin Zhen and others to discuss the strategy of advancing. Unexpectedly, before the plan of advancing was successfully discussed, a letter from Guan Yu was received. After reading the contents of the letter, Liu Bei's first reaction was to look at Qin Zhen in shock and said: "Could it be that the military advisor really has the ability to predict the future? A few days ago, Fang Yan said that the emperor might issue an edict to punish the enemy!" "Today Yunchang sent a letter saying that Cao Cao had moved his capital, and the emperor issued a secret decree for us to go to the capital to defend the king!" He was naturally shocked when he said this, but everyone else was also shocked when they heard it. Only Qin Zhen had a calm expression, as if it was similar to what he had guessed.

In fact, he had long been accustomed to this historical inertia: all historical events, as long as the situation is similar, will occur in a fixed manner. Before this, he was actually not sure whether the Yidaizhao itself existed. After all, in history, Dong Cheng only claimed that he had received the imperial edict and called on the princes to fight the enemy. However, the original version of the Yidaizhao has never appeared in history. This raises the possibility that Dong Cheng forged the secret decree in order to overthrow the emperor. But in history, not only Dong Cheng mentioned the Yidaizhao, but Liu Bei also mentioned this edict when he was named King of Hanzhong. Judging from Lao Liu's style of doing things, he would not join the gang without even seeing the situation. So for him, Liu Xie's issuance of the Secret Edict was at least 80% credible. Even though history has changed a lot now, the fundamental contradiction between the power of the prime minister and the power of the emperor has not changed. Therefore, the occurrence of the Yidaizhao is also a high-probability event. Combining all the above reasons, he was able to speculate the occurrence of the Yidaizhao. The only thing he didn't expect was that the Yidaizhao occurred half a month earlier than in history. Seeing Liu Bei so shocked, he shook his head and said: "It's not that I have the ability to predict the future, it's just that the situation is like this." "Since my army rose to prominence, Cao Mengde has felt like a thorn in his side." "Now that he has pacified Xiliang and taken Nanyang and Henei, Yanzhou is no longer as important as Guanzhong!" "Now that Yuan Shao is about to march south, we must first move the capital westward." "But the emperor values ​​our army now, so he will not easily move westward, so he will definitely have a grudge against Cao Mengde!" "Given Cao Cao's nature, he will not be willing to be stopped and will definitely anger the emperor." "So the emperor will issue an edict to punish him. This emperor's name is not something I can know in advance!" After hearing what he said, everyone was shocked, and even Zhuge Liang sighed: "Your ability to see the big picture from the small details is rare in the world, and it is not something we can learn from!" If he were to ask what he admires most about Qin Zhen, it would be that besides his erudition, it was also his extraordinary vision. For example, when playing Go, a novice cannot see the moves, but an expert can see two or three steps ahead. Qin Zhen is the kind of person who can see five or six steps ahead and is always a few steps ahead. This kind of ability cannot be replicated at all, except through talent. But Qin Zhen did not show any joy when he heard it. He just shook his head and sighed: "It's a pity that although we know about this, now is not the time to make a fuss about it!" "Our army should not advance north until Sun Ce is completely defeated." "Cao Cao is still in the court, and Yuan Shao is lurking in the north. Even though we have this decree, it is difficult for our army to follow it!"

The secret decree is indeed a good thing for them, but now is a bad time! If they want to sit on the sidelines and watch the Battle of Guandu, they cannot join the game now. They had to wait until Cao Cao and Yuan Shao started fighting before they could take the opportunity to seize the emperor. When Liu Bei heard this, he frowned and said with a worried look on his face: "That being said, the emperor has issued an edict. How can our army take it lightly?" "Even if I can't get in, I should still try. Otherwise, I will be ashamed of the emperor's grace!" This is also one of Liu Bei's shortcomings. He had no choice before he completely controlled the court. If he wants to continue to control the banner of respecting the king and expelling the barbarians, he must respond to the emperor's edicts in a timely manner. As soon as he said this, everyone looked thoughtful, except Qin Chen who spoke: "There is no rush for this. I have a plan that can temporarily delay Cao Cao's actions." "After our army has wiped out Sun Ce, it won't be too late to march north!" When Liu Bei heard this, he immediately asked for advice, and Qin Zhen replied: "The only solution now is to let Yuan Shao mobilize his army!" "In my opinion, it is difficult for our army to move now. We might as well send an envoy to the north to inform Yuan Shao immediately." "Yuan Shao has a large number of troops. Even if the main force is not there, he can still mobilize the smaller forces." "Our army only needs to inform Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in secret that they intend to move the capital, so that the two tigers will fight each other." "So Yuan Shao is afraid that Cao Cao will occupy the pass and guard it, and he doesn't want this to happen!" "As long as Yuan Shao makes a move, Cao Cao will be afraid of Yuan Shao's surprise attack and will only dare to move the capital from Nanyang." "Our army will send General Guan to the south to coordinate and spread the word that Liu Biao intends to march north." "With the two armies united, Cao Mengde will be wary and will not dare to move the capital at will." "Our army can take this opportunity to march south, destroy Sun Ce first, and then return!" "Otherwise, if our army gets entangled with Cao Cao here, it will not only be useless, but it will also give Sun Ce the opportunity to march south!" When Liu Bei heard his words, he gladly agreed to them and immediately sent Jiang Gan north to meet Yuan Shao as an envoy. At the same time, without hesitation, he sent troops south again, preparing to deal the final blow to Sun Ce. (End of this chapter)