Chapter 98: Total Annihilation

"Xiu Yuan and Wen Jin both died because of my negligence."

At this point, Liu Bei also understood where he was wrong.

At this time, he also remembered the high-spirited appearance of the two when they came together to surrender, and his heart was even more depressed.

"The two gentlemen treated me as national heroes, but I failed to repay them as national heroes."

"I think Ma'anshan was defeated." Guan Yu analyzed: "Lu Xun set fire to the camp, and the special troops cut off the rear. Our army still has at least 40,000 soldiers who can fight."

"Brother, our army is trapped in the camp..."

"Second brother, just wait and see." Zhang Fei pulled his second brother's sleeve.

Ma Liang wrote Shamoke's name with mixed feelings. This barbarian king died here?

【"Bei ascended Ma'anshan and deployed his troops around"

Ma'anshan is a special place. It is located to the west of the Yiling battlefield. There is a small road here that can go north directly to Zigui. It was the closest retreat to Liu Bei on the battlefield at that time.

At the same time, the unlucky Ma Liang was probably here too, because Ma'anshan was the garrison point of the Wuxi Barbarians.

So far, Shu Han and Sun Wu had a real head-on confrontation in the Battle of Yiling.

But unfortunately, although Liu Bei had the advantage of terrain, he only had at most 10,000 remnants around him, and the majority of his troops were in the more than 40 camps that were broken by Lu Xun.

Although Lu Xun was attacking, his 50,000 troops were unscathed and eager to fight and win merits. After all, the best battle is to win with the wind.

And everyone knew that the leader of Shu Han was standing on the top of the mountain. There was no need to capture him alive. As long as he was killed, he would be remembered in history and be made a marquis and prime minister! Therefore, the soldiers were more fearless.

With a huge gap in strength and morale, the Shu Han army had only one choice left:

Fu Zhuo and Cheng Ji fought to the death and cut off the rear, winning a glimmer of life for Liu Bei. Although Yiling was defeated, Liu Bei could not die here!

In the end, Liu Bei fled back to Baidi City alone. The veterans he had accumulated over the past ten years since the Battle of Chibi were completely wiped out, and a large number of middle and high-level officers were either killed or captured. 】

It was extremely tragic!

I remembered that I had just hosted a banquet for Fu Zhuo a few days ago. Such a great man cried for the Han Dynasty after getting drunk, and later his son died for the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bei's knuckles turned white from pinching.

As for the annihilation of the army, he, an old soldier, certainly understood what it meant.

The combat effectiveness of the troops depends not only on the soldiers, but also on the military marquises, Sima, Bairen, Changya, and the gatekeepers.

The lost soldiers can be recruited again, but where can those generals who have fought in Jingzhou, Hanzhong, and Yizhou be found?

Even if there is money and food to recruit a large number of soldiers, at best they are just a group of Wu soldiers who will collapse in battle.

"Wu soldiers are quite good at defending themselves." Wei Yan said boldly: "I have dealt with Wu soldiers when I was in my hometown."

"Jiangdong's defense soldiers are only driven by intimidation. There is no benefit or achievement to be gained, so Wu soldiers will not fight to the death."

"Looking at this Ma'anshan, there is a great benefit ahead, and the battle in Jingzhou is the second. In this battle, to protect the hometown, how dare we not die?"

"Wen Chang is right." Guan Yu agreed: "Third brother, although Wu soldiers are weak, they should not be underestimated."

Zhang Fei agreed cautiously.

Guan Yu glanced at Wei Yan again. Guangmu didn't say much about his general. He only talked about Wei Yan's rebellion. Later generations also commented that he was the right-hand man of the military advisor.

Guan Yu was opposed to his brother's asking him to come here at first, but his brother thought that he could become the right-hand man of the military advisor, at least he was talented.

And his rebellion happened twenty years later, and his character is still uncertain. Treating him with great kindness may not necessarily lead to disasters in the future.

【This battle caused Shu Han to be completely defeated. Looking back now, there was a mistake first:

The Battle of Yiling started in July of 221. After the troops were dispatched, Wu County and Zigui were successively captured.

Then... they did not leave, and stayed until the beginning of 222 before they set out again.

Sun Wu, who was originally passive and hasty in the battle, was able to deploy troops.

Lu Xun completed the analysis of the war and the tactical layout, and locked the Shu Han army, which had rested for half a year before arriving late, in the Yiling Gorge.

So where did Liu Bei go during these few months of free time? It can't be that he played the game of a benevolent and righteous army like Duke Xiang of Song?

There is a sentence in Liu Bei's biography: "In the second year of Zhangwu, he posthumously named Madam Huang Si and moved her burial to Shu, but the former lord died before he arrived."

In the second year of Zhangwu, which is 222, Liu Bei was locked in Yiling for the first half of the year and could not move, and in the second half of the year, he was defeated in Yiling and could not leave Jingzhou again.

Therefore, there is speculation that the missing months may be used to relocate the tomb of Lady Gan, because Lady Gan was buried here after she died of illness in Nanjun. After the stalemate in Yiling in 222, there was no opportunity or time to relocate the tomb.

Due to the lack of more detailed historical materials, this statement can only be regarded as speculation.

But apart from this possibility, it is difficult to explain why there were such a big tactical loophole in the early stage of the Battle of Yiling. 】

Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, then shook his head:

"It's just a guess, don't take it seriously."

"Maybe the army had an epidemic in Zigui, so they couldn't move."

Zhang Fei shook his head:

"Brother, if it were someone else, I would definitely not believe it, but..."

The other people also nodded quietly, and the lord's love for Lady Gan was visible.

Moreover, Lady Gan also managed the lord's backyard in an orderly manner, which also made them, the ministers, worry less.

Liu Bei forced a smile and said:

"Dr. Zhang had diagnosed it a month ago, and he prescribed a few decoctions to take on time. Now he is much better."

That's good...they were relieved for the time being.

Kong Ming and Pang Tong looked at each other and were a little worried.

Guangmu's guess was a little strange, but the lord had been humble and willing to accept advice all his life, but Yiling insisted on his own way, which was also strange.

There must be a reason for the abnormality. What is the lord planning?

Pang Tong had a look of realization on his face, shook his head, wrote a few words, and handed them to Kong Ming.

[Another tactical mistake was that he and Lu Xun had been in a stalemate in Yiling for half a year.

To use the common saying now: I am waiting for the big move, what are you waiting for?

Lu Xun was under the pressure of a bunch of arrogant and brave generals under his command, and he had to write a letter to Sun Quan every two months to appease him.

It was to wait for the morale of Shu Han to decline and the weather to change, hoping to wait for Liu Bei's mistakes.

Fortunately, Lu Xun finally waited, Liu Bei handed over the power of Jiangjiang to others, and Lu Xun took advantage of the opportunity and hit it with one blow.

The stalemate between the two armies often competes for who makes the first mistake. If Liu Bei had not made this mistake, Lu Xun might not be able to withstand the pressure of his veteran generals and be forced to send troops, and the Battle of Yiling might have a chance of victory.

But we all know that there is often no if in history. If there really was an if, the second master would have gone north to kill Cao Cao in the Battle of Xiangfan, and why would he have gone through so much trouble? 】

Liu Bei couldn't help asking:

"Second brother, in this situation in Xiangfan, if Lord Sun returns to Hefei to respond, can he march to Xudu?"

Guan Yu shook his head and shattered Liu Bei's fantasy:

"If Lord Sun had such a mind, there would be no Xiangshui Alliance. Brother should have taken Hanzhong and left Guanzhong. Why is he still lingering here?"

"But these are all empty words. It's useless to talk about them, and it's useless to discuss them."

"From Guangmu's words, it can be seen that even with the merits of Jingzhou, Lu Xun still doesn't accept the crowd." Jiang Wan also felt that Lu Xun's victory was extremely dangerous:

"He can appease his master and comfort the brave generals. The odds of winning or losing with the lord are only 50-50."

Liu Bei also agreed, and at the same time, he felt even more distressed: Where is Lu Xun?

The secret note of Jian Yong's investigation of the Lu family is still in his sleeve. Unfortunately, there is no "Xun" on this thin page.

【Looking at the Battle of Yiling, this battle is also called the battle where Liu Bei gambled on fate.

Although Cao Wei was strong at this time, it was not strong enough; Sun Wu swallowed Jingzhou and the surrendered soldiers of Guan Yu and Yu Jin, and its strength was greatly increased.

Sun Wu's attention and vision were all drawn to Yiling. Liu Bei chose to send troops south of the Yangtze River, and he might have intended to use himself as bait to lure Cao Wei to his fate.

But unfortunately, the immature Cao Pi was played hard by the shrewd Sun Quan. 】

Kong Ming also opened the note written by Pang Tong in his hand: Pi is inferior to his father.

The Battle of Yiling ended quickly, but the aftertaste was long.