Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 140: Jingzhou is in turmoil again
Following Zhuge Liang's instructions, Wei Xiaobao led his men to remove a barricade, and then withdrew the archers from the nearby arrow tower.

Guo Si wandered around in the formation for a long time before he found the exit. When he finally escaped, he had only a few thousand men under his command.

After Liu Xie escaped from Chang'an, Guo Si occupied Chang'an, recruited troops, and slowly expanded his forces. He finally amassed a force of 70,000 to 80,000, thinking he could dominate the northwest. This time, he agreed to send troops to attack Xu Du, having also agreed with Cao Cao to divide the northern territory equally. However, with 30,000 troops, he lost more than half of his troops before even reaching the walls of Wancheng, and fled back to Chang'an in disgrace.

On his way back to Wuwei, Ma Teng received the news that the city had fallen, so he hurriedly led his troops to attack Tianshui.

In order to capture Wuwei in one fell swoop, Han Sui mobilized almost all his troops, leaving Tianshui empty. Within a few days, Ma Teng succeeded and occupied Tianshui.

Han Sui captured Ma Teng's wives and concubines, trying to force Ma Teng to withdraw from Tianshui.

Ma Teng had nowhere to go and was unwilling to give up Tianshui, which eventually led to the death of all his family members at the hands of Han Sui.

Fortunately, Ma Chao led his troops out of the siege when the city was broken, and finally fled to Tianshui to meet up with Ma Teng.

When Cao Cao learned that the Northwest Allied Forces had been defeated in their attack on Wancheng, and also knew what had happened in Tianshui and Wuwei, he could only sigh that God had blessed Liu Bei and given him a chance to catch his breath.

In order to stop Cao Cao's offensive, Yuan Shang actually allied with the northern minority Wuhuan, and won the support of Wuhuan in exchange for the territory of Youzhou. He finally defeated Cao Cao in Nanpi and forced Cao Cao to retreat to Yecheng.

After this confrontation, all parties stopped fighting and took the time to engage in production.

Apart from occasional small-scale frictions at the borders, the internal areas of the various princes have ushered in a rare peace.

Both Cao Cao and Liu Bei implemented the military farming system, and their development speed far exceeded that of other princes. They also restored their respective strengths very early and prepared to continue expanding outward.

After analyzing the situation in the world, Zhuge Liang suggested that Liu Bei continue to develop southward and plan to seize Jingzhou.

Zhuge Liang said, "Following the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Jingzhou and Yizhou, far from the chaotic conflict in the Central Plains, have experienced significant development. They now have abundant food and fodder, and a sufficient population. Liu Biao, occupying Jingzhou, has no desire for expansion, only for comfort. Now, with Cao Cao fighting Yuan Shang and the Wuhuan in the north, it's a perfect opportunity to seize Jingzhou."

Liu Bei did not want to seize Jingzhou because Liu Biao and he were both relatives of the royal family.

In order to get the jade seal back from Cao Cao as soon as possible, Liu Xie also decided to help Liu Bei strengthen his power, so he issued an edict to Liu Biao, asking him to go to Xuchang to take up his post and give up the position of Governor of Jingzhou.

After receiving the imperial edict, Liu Biao was ready to lead his family to Xuchang, but was stopped by Huang Zu and others.

When Liu Bei attacked Lujiang, Huang Zu and Gan Ning launched a surprise attack on Liu Bei, fearing that Liu Bei would liquidate him after losing Liu Biao as their backer.

The Cai family had been doing business in Xiangyang for many years and did not want to give up their wealthy family background and go to Xuchang to live a hard life.

In this way, under the persuasion of Cai Mao, Mrs. Cai, Huang Zu and others, Liu Biao finally gave up the idea of ​​going to Xuchang.

It was for this reason that Liu Bei finally made up his mind to attack Jingzhou.

Liu Bei's navy had all been sent to the north to defend against Cao Cao. Since they had no city as a base, they could only cruise back and forth between several ports. Therefore, the manpower and food supplies required were very large, and they could not send more troops back to the river.

Zhuge Liang had no choice but to activate Sun Quan's navy to attack Jingzhou, and at the same time ordered Guan Yu and Zhang Liao to lead troops into Jingzhou from Zhonglu Port.

Shortly after Guan Yu and Zhang Liao entered Jingzhou, Wei Xiaobao arrived from behind. He rushed into Guan Yu's camp, barely catching his breath, "Brother, something terrible has happened! Sun Quan has rebelled and defected to Liu Biao!"

Guan Yu and Zhang Liao both looked incredulous.

Guan Yu asked, "Sun Quan and Liu Biao have a vengeance for the murder of their fathers. Taking Jingzhou is the perfect opportunity for him to avenge his father. Why would he defect to Liu Biao?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "This is beyond the military advisor's expectations. Sun Quan has already stationed over 10,000 troops at the three ports of Wulin, Hanjin, and Jiangjin. The military advisor is worried that you will be attacked from both sides by Sun Quan and Liu Biao, so he sent me here to deliver a message, asking you to withdraw temporarily."

After discussion, Guan Yu and Zhang Liao decided to retreat to Zhonglu Port and wait for Zhuge Liang's next instructions.

Before the army reached Zhonglu Port, they had already seen the raging flames ahead.

The soldiers reported: "Zhou Yu and his men have launched a surprise attack on Zhonglu Port, setting fire to all the ships in the port and even damaging the port facilities."

Seeing that Zhonglu Port was no longer accessible, Guan Yu decided to lead his army to camp on the mountainside.

After receiving the news of Sun Quan's rebellion, Zhuge Liang not only arranged for Wei Xiaobao to deliver a letter to Guan Yu, but also sent people to the north to replace surrendered generals such as Zhou Tai and Ling Cao.

These people had already felt humiliated when they surrendered with Sun Quan. Now, because of Sun Quan's rebellion, they were suspected by Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, which made them even more angry. After returning to Xuchang, they all looked grim and resentful!
Unexpectedly, Zhuge Liang's purpose in replacing several people was to send them to Huyang Port to garrison and train troops in preparation for attacking Sun Quan's navy.

After they left, Liu Bei asked Zhuge Liang, "Military Advisor, these people are all former Sun Quan subordinates. If they rebel after arriving at Huyang Port, wouldn't that mean we've sent soldiers and generals to Sun Quan for nothing?"

Zhuge Liang said, "The art of military deployment emphasizes not employing men you doubt, and maintaining confidence in those you employ. Zhou Tai, Ling Cao, and the others, though former subordinates of Sun Quan, are all loyal and righteous men. Now that Sun Quan has defected to Liu Biao, he has not only betrayed his lord but also dishonored the Sun family's ancestors. How could these men continue to follow him? Furthermore, assigning them to fight Sun Quan demonstrates the lord's high regard for them, and will surely encourage them to fight to the death in his service."

Sure enough, just over a month after Zhou Tai and Ling Cao went to Huyang Port, they led the navy to recapture Zhonglu Port and pick up Guan Yu and Zhang Liao's troops and return to Huyang Port.

After the army rested for a few days, Zhuge Liang's letter also arrived from Xuchang.

The court promoted Liu Biao to the rank of General Zhennan, and he continued to serve as the governor of Jingzhou. Huang Zu and Gan Ning were also promoted.

As a result, Huang Zu and Gan Ning no longer worried about Liu Bei's liquidation of them, and they returned to Jiangxia peacefully.

Zhuge Liang also mentioned in the letter that if he wanted to capture Jingzhou, he would first have to rely on Liu Biao to eliminate Sun Quan and thus completely pacify Jiangdong. Among Liu Biao's subordinates, Huang Zu was the most suitable candidate.

Following Zhuge Liang's strategy, Guan Yu led an elite cavalry unit, accompanied by Wei Xiaobao, to Jiangxia, intending to persuade Huang Zu to launch a surprise attack on Sun Quan.

Sun Jian was killed by Huang Zu's arrow. After Sun Quan defected to Liu Biao, Huang Zu felt uneasy, fearing that once Sun Quan gained a foothold under Liu Biao, he would seek revenge on him sooner or later.

Just when Huang Zu was at a loss, two groups of people came to win him over at the same time.

One group was Guan Yu and Wei Xiaobao who came from Huyang Port, and the other group was Lu Su sent by Sun Quan.

(End of this chapter)