lcionline Chapter 240 Too late to regret
Chapter 240 Too late to regret
But this time, Zhang Lu was destined to be disappointed. Liu Yu politely rejected Zhang Lu's suggestion after Zhang Song repeatedly offered his advice.
Liu Yu heeded Zhang Song's advice and changed his mind, agreeing to let Liu Bei pass through, allowing Liu Bei to travel north via the plank road to Yongzhou to attack Yuan Shao.
Liu Yu's previous reason for refusing Liu Xie was the threat from Liu Bei in the south. Now that Liu Bei has taken the initiative to ask to rescue His Majesty, what excuse does Liu Yu have left?
In fact, we all know that Liu Bei's reasons are very untenable, but who knew that this old fellow Liu Yu would agree to Zhang Song's suggestion so inexplicably?
Perhaps Zhang Song's silver tongue played a crucial role, or perhaps Liu Yu was already frightened and unwilling to cause any more trouble. Unfortunately, trouble in this world doesn't just disappear if you don't provoke it.
After Liu Yu agreed to his suggestion, Zhang Song returned to his residence in high spirits and secretly met with someone. When Zhang Lu received the news that the spies in Zhang Song's house had been exposed, he immediately understood that Zhang Song had most likely secretly sided with Liu Bei.
Zhang Lu understood that he needed to make plans early. The next day, he asked Liu Yu for leave, saying that he wanted to return to Hanzhong as soon as possible to prepare for Liu Bei's plan to borrow a route through the city.
His reasoning was quite sound: one should not have the heart to harm others, but one should not be without the heart to guard against others. Liu Yu thought this made sense, and since he trusted Zhang Lu quite a bit, he readily let Zhang Lu go back.
However, Liu Yu could never have imagined that Zhang Lu would immediately begin preparing for war upon returning to Hanzhong, gathering followers of the Five Pecks of Rice sect, creating an atmosphere of impending great war.
Upon hearing this news, Liu Yu quickly sent someone to inquire about what was going on. Before news from Zhang Lu's side could be relayed back, news suddenly came from Deyang County that Liu Bei's organization, which had been using the route, had launched an attack and occupied the Deyang line.
Furthermore, the Jiajiang River basin was sealed off, severing the connection between Yizhou City and Hanzhong! Liu Bei launched his attack! Zhang Lu's prophecy had come true! Liu Yu was filled with regret at this moment.
But it was too late. According to the latest intelligence, Liu Bei's large army was heading towards Yizhou City. At this time, Yizhou City had only 10,000 soldiers who had not yet entered a state of war. How could they possibly withstand Liu Bei's large army of nearly 100,000 men coming out in full force?
Liu Yu was initially hesitant about the matter, and Zhang Lu, the governor of Hanzhong, also strongly opposed it. However, after Zhang Song's persuasion, Liu Yu inexplicably agreed to it. "Xi Zhicai said to Chen Er.
Xun You also said, "Yes, when the late emperor was alive, I worked with Liu Yu, the Prince of Chengdu, in the court. At that time, Liu Yu was shrewd and capable, a formidable figure."
"Times have changed. Liu Yu is now indulging in the peaceful and prosperous times in Yizhou. Coupled with old age and declining health, he has lost his former ambition."
"He only wanted to live a peaceful life and protect his small piece of land in Yizhou, but he was wrong this time. Liu Bei was not a good person."
"Liu Bei played the 'borrowing a path to attack Guo' strategy exceptionally well. He took Deyang County with almost no effort. The garrison of Deyang County was quite pleased to learn that the higher authorities had reached a peace agreement with Liu Bei's forces in Ba County."
"They had been on guard against Liu Bei's forces in the south for years and were exhausted. But who knew that Liu Bei had no intention of truly making peace with them? Under the pretext of borrowing a passage, he directly took Deyang and cut off the connection between Yizhou City and Hanzhong."
Liu Yu's organization in Yizhou City had less than 10,000 men. Even if he urgently summoned reinforcements from the surrounding counties, it would be of no use, because Liu Bei's large organization had as many as 100,000 men, which was truly unimaginable.
How did Liu Bei manage to build such a large organization in this desolate land in southern Yizhou, especially considering that he had recently lost many men in Yangzhou?
Liu Yu had no time to think about these things now. While cursing Liu Bei for being a villain and wishing him a terrible death, he urgently ordered people to gather as many reinforcements as possible from Peicheng and other places to consolidate Yizhou. At the same time, he sent several waves of messengers to Hanzhong to ask Zhang Lu for help.
Will Zhang Lu come? Obviously not. Not only will it be too late by the time Zhang Lu receives the plea for help, but more importantly, the road from Hanzhong to Yizhou City has been cut off by Liu Bei's organization, making it difficult for Zhang Lu to break through Liu Bei's defenses in a short time.
Based on these reasons, Zhang Lu decisively abandoned his plan to support Yizhou and instead focused all his efforts on preparing for the attack on Hanzhong. Once the western part of Yizhou fell into Liu Bei's hands, Hanzhong would soon become Liu Bei's next target.
Hanzhong's geographical location is extremely important, and it has always been a strategic location fought over by military strategists. Only by controlling Hanzhong could Liu Bei establish a complete defense system in Yizhou and consolidate the defenses within Yizhou.
At the same time, Hanzhong was also a springboard for Liu Bei to enter Yongzhou. Do you think Liu Bei wouldn't be interested in such a place? The answer is obvious: Liu Bei was not only interested, but extremely interested.
Liu Yu of Yizhou surrendered before Chen Er had predicted that the city would last three days. The Yizhou forces were simply too weak, despite being Liu Bei's elite troops.
After a burst of fire, white flags were raised on the walls of Yizhou. Most of the flintlock weapons in the hands of the Yizhou soldiers showed no signs of being fired.
Seeing such a poorly organized team, Liu Bei cursed inwardly, "What a waste of my time! I thought the new governor of Yi Province, Liu Yu, would be more capable, but he turns out to be so incompetent!"
"I really overestimated Liu Yu, that old scoundrel," Liu Bei said to Jian Yong. Jian Yong smiled and said, "The Yizhou organization has been out of practice for a long time. Even if Liu Yu has a large organization, it won't help. The difference between an elite organization and an ordinary organization will be clear once they clash."
With the city's defense team surrendering, Liu Yu was captured alive by Liu Bei. Liu Bei, who came from the Republic of China, had learned the habits of the warlords of that era and did not make things difficult for Liu Yu.
Instead, Liu Yu was allowed to continue living in the Chengdu Prince's Mansion within Yizhou City. In Liu Bei's words, "You should just stay in the mansion and be a good recluse. The world should be handed over to capable people."
With the capture of Yizhou City, Liu Bei had completed the first step of his three-step strategic plan. His next task was to take Hanzhong, the vital passage to Yizhou.
Liu Bei left Zhang Fei in Yizhou City and gave him 20,000 elite troops to quickly eliminate the remaining resistance forces in the western region and establish effective control. He then led his main force towards Hanzhong.
At the end of February in 9, Liu Bei led a large army to Hanzhong. Zhang Lu, who had been waiting for a long time, was ready for battle, although the Hanzhong garrison was not as elite as Liu Bei's.
However, the powerful faith unleashed by the Five Pecks of Rice sect's protective organization caught Liu Bei completely off guard. In the first battle, Liu Bei's large organization suffered losses of more than 5,000 men and was forced to retreat more than 50 miles to set up camp.