When Zhang He retreated from Fenyin and passed Jishan, he felt very depressed.

They came from Anyi and walked on the southern foot of Mingtiaogang. When they returned, they wanted to go to Wenxi and walked along the northern foot of Mingtiaogang. They went back and forth, one south and one north, and before they knew it, they took a step back.

Since the war started, he has been retreating, from Yucheng to Anyi, from Anyi to Wenxi, and from Wenxi to Wenxi, it is likely that Wenxi will retreat to Linfen and to Yong'an. Judging from Liu Bei's previous arrangements, his final plan is likely to be to retreat to Bingzhou. If that day really comes, the Zhongshan Kingdom will be really over. Bingzhou is only Taiyuan and Shangdang counties, and they cannot support the army. Unless the Central Plains are in chaos, Liu Bei will never have a chance to make a comeback.

Will the Central Plains be in chaos? Zhang He didn't know. Since Yuan Tan, they have been waiting for Sun Ce to make trouble, but so far, Sun Ce has not only not been in chaos, but has become stronger and stronger in the war. Yuan Tan has become the king of the country, Liu Bei has become a loser, and the Guanzhong court has bowed to his posts, leaving only a small emperor to flee far away from Yizhou. News of Sun Ce's upcoming ascension has been heard, and the Wu Kingdom is in a prosperous situation, and there is no possibility of civil strife.

Zhang He sighed secretly. Good fortune is the hindrance. If it weren’t for becoming famous in Guandu, he wouldn’t have fallen to this point today, and he would not have been able to return home.

"General." A personal guard called out, interrupting Zhang He's thoughts. Zhang He raised his head and saw two cavalry running from afar. The knights pulled a man with ropes. The man ran desperately, but he still couldn't run away from the war horse. He fell to the ground and was dragged forward.

Zhang He fell down. Although it was a practice to collect grain on the spot, he was different from other generals and always opposed to abuse of local people. This was not only because he reads the books of sages, but also because he knew that although these people had no ability to resist, they might become the eyes and ears of the enemy. It was even short-sighted to indulge their subordinates to bully the people. It seemed to inspire morale, but actually corrupt military discipline.

The knight came to Zhang He, turned over and dismounted, and bowed to salute. Zhang He said in a deep voice: "What's going on?"

"General, this person spreads rumors and slanders the King of Zhongshan and the General, saying that the King of Zhongshan is not strict in control of his subordinates, and the general is as greedy as a wolf, and instigates his subordinates to plunder the people, unlike other generals who have good military discipline."

Zhang He couldn't help but laugh. Is the other general referring to Wang Ling? He knew who Wang Ling was. Although he came from a Bingzhou family, he was also a familiar person with the books of sages, and now he is the prefect of Hedong, but he is not good to the people. If he encounters this situation today, the people will never have the chance to stand in front of Wang Ling. Zhang He did not say anything and ordered people to pull up the unlucky guy who was in trouble.

The people were very young and looked a little reckless. Although they were covered in loess and their mouths and noses were almost blocked by the soil, they still refused to give in. He glared at Zhang He. "You just can't do it, you're not as good as the young general who passed by before. He passed by us, and although he also collected grain, he gave us receipts to pay the bills and gave us baby meat pie."

Zhang He felt a little sad. He knew that this people were confused. The general who gave the receipt was definitely not a subordinate of the King of Zhongshan, and the Zhongshan army did not have meat cakes. Both of these were only found by the Wu army.

Wu Jun is nearby?

"What kind of receipt?" Zhang He endured his anxiety and asked slowly: "I can give you a receipt too."

The young man grinned and laughed. "In my arms." He raised his tied hands again, and proudly raised his eyebrows at the two knights who were dragging him over. The loess on his eyebrows fell down. "Unlock it for me."

"Unlock your mother!" A knight was furious and raised his whip to beat him, but was stopped by Zhang He. Zhang He untied the young man with his own hands. The young man rubbed his wrists and carefully took out a piece of paper from his arms, and slowly opened it. His movements were gentle, just like holding a heirloom. He didn't even want to hand it over to Zhang He, but Liang showed it to Zhang He.

Seeing the handwriting on the receipt, Zhang He couldn't help but sniff the corner of his eyes. There was a word Lu on the receipt. The signer of this receipt was not only the generals of the Wu army, but also the Lu Meng, who was very popular among the Wu army recently. But what shocked him the most was not Lu Meng's name, but the date of signing.

This is a receipt ten days ago.

Zhang He did not dare to be negligent and asked carefully. He learned that a large number of Wu infantry and cavalry passed by here ten days ago. He heard that they had divided their troops shortly afterwards, heading west and north, and was shocked and sweating. Needless to say, the way to the west was Gao Shun, Jiang Qin, and the way to the north was Lu Meng. No matter where they went, it was not good news.

Zhang He immediately reported the news to Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei was also startled and called Wang Ling to discuss it together. Wang Ling's face turned pale and blurted out.

"Baibo Valley, or Yong'an."

Wang Ling came from Taiyuan and walked into the Fenshui River Valley. Yong'an was in the valley, with Huoda Mountain on the east side and Luliang Mountain on the west side, with a dangerous terrain. Baibo Valley was in the north of Linfen, and the old Baibo army of the Yellow Turbans was active nearby, which was also an easy to defend and difficult to attack. However, the Baibo army had limited strength and generally did not dare to attack easily. Not long ago, in order to support Anyi, he captured Linfen, but was soon repelled by Jia Kui, the chief of Jiangyi. But with the help of Lu Meng, the situation would be different. Baibo Valley would become a thorn in the main throat of the Fenshui River Valley.

This problem was too serious. Zhang Fei and Zhang He dared not take it lightly, and they dared not believe in false reports. Zhang He then personally led the scout and visited north along the direction the young people said, and found the location where Lu Meng passed. Spring is dry season, and it has not rained these days, and traces of the army passing by can still be seen. Based on the remaining traces, Zhang He concluded that this army had stairs and cavalry, at least 5,000 people, or even more.

While sending the scouts to continue moving forward, he followed Lu Meng's whereabouts while repaying Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei knew the situation was serious, so he accelerated the marching speed. He returned to Wenxi and reported to Liu Bei with Zhang He. When he learned that Lu Su had sent Lu Meng to the north, Liu Bei was stunned at that time, and Sima Yi was also confused and didn't know what to do for a moment.

Baibo Valley is located in the north of Linfen City. If Lu Meng occupied Baibo Valley, they would only be Linfen, Jiangyi and Wenxi counties, and there would be no room for maneuver. Even if Lu Su did not attack, they would not be able to hold on for too long. It would require a large amount of supplies to support tens of thousands of troops, which was definitely not something that the household registration of these three counties could maintain.

Little without much quarrel, Liu Bei reached an agreement with everyone. In any case, he had to defeat Lu Meng, capture Baibo Valley, and regain the important road to Bingzhou. He left Pei Qianshou Wenxi, Wang Ling guarded Linfen, and the remaining men and horses all went north to attack Baibo Valley. Considering that Jia Kui was in Jiangyi for several years and was familiar with the customs and customs, Liu Bei appointed Jia Kui as his former military advisor to assist Zhang Fei in the military.

The commander of Bai Bo’s army was Guo Tai. Guo Tai was born in a poor family and his original name was Guo Tai. Because he admired the famous scholar Guo Tai, he changed his name to Guo Tai. He had read some books, participated in the five-year rebellion in Zhongping, and had combat experience. He was considered a talent in the Bai Bo’s army and was very trusted by the soldiers of Bai Bo’s army.

In the first year of Chuping, Dong Zhuo occupied Luoyang, and the princes of Guandong raised troops to attack Dong. Bai Bo's army also attacked south under the command of Guo Tai. Dong Zhuo was worried about the retreat, so he sent Niu Fu and Jia Xu to occupy Hedong. The two sides fought many times and each had their own victory or defeat. When fighting on the flat ground, the Xiliang cavalry had obvious advantages. When they arrived in the mountains, Bai Bo's army had the upper hand. Although Niu Fu controlled the south of Linfen, he was unable to completely wipe out the Bai Bo's army. The two sides were in a stalemate for a long time.

Later, Guo Tai died in battle. Yang Feng, Han Xian and others had their own troops, and no one obeyed each other. The Baibo army no longer had the same momentum as before, so they could only retreat to Baibozui and survived hard. Baibozui was not on the main road, and was still three or five miles away from Baibo Valley. They usually farm and work on their own, and then robbed some passers-by as supplements. Jia Xu and Zhao Ang took charge of Hedong one after another, but they were unable to conquer, and the two sides were at peace.

Bai Bo's army had contact with Sun Ce for a long time, but at that time, Sun Ce's influence was not the Yellow River, and it was not threatened by the Bai Bo's army for the time being. Bai Bo's army did not take it seriously, and occasionally sent an envoy to contact him. Last year, Sun Ce had pacified Jizhou, and news came that he was about to be emperor. Bai Bo's army became nervous. After discussion, he sent Yang Feng to Jianye to pay tribute to Sun Ce.

When Liu Bei surrounded Anyi and Zhao Ang sent people to Baibozui for help, the reason why Baibo's army was willing to send troops was not to give Zhao Ang face, but to the King of Wu. They believed that Liu Bei was not the opponent of the King of Wu, and sooner or later Hedong was the territory of the Kingdom of Wu. If they didn't work hard at this time, they would not be qualified to bargain in the future. However, they did not have the idea of ​​exercising their efforts. When they learned that Lu Meng had arrived in Anyi, they retreated. Jia Kui's attack was just an excuse. If they really had to set up a formation and fight, Baibo's army might not lose.

When Lu Meng first arrived at Baiboluo, he saw the complacency of Baibo and his men at the reception banquet and couldn't help but laugh secretly. These bandits hid in the mountains and felt complacent, and they didn't know the changes outside. It seemed that there were tens of thousands of people, but in fact they were just a group of mobs, wasting food.

Lu Meng was disdainful, but he was very polite. When he was a servant by the King of Wu, the King of Wu said something that he always kept in his heart. He should act ruthlessly, but not ruthlessly on his face. He should not only laugh on his face, but also smile well. So he took out a few pairs of armor and told Han Xian and others that after defeating Liu Bei, we can all meet your requirements. But I came in a hurry and only brought three thousand pairs of refined armor. I could not meet all your requirements. I could only equip the elite first. Whose subordinates are the best at fighting, picking up three thousand people out, these armors are theirs.

Looking at the exquisite and solid armor, Han Xian and others blushed. They were not very united and competed with each other from time to time. Now they have great profits, so they can still care about their faces. The more armor they get, the more powerful they have, the more opportunities they have to make contributions, and the higher their official titles will be. If they miss this step, it will be difficult to come back in the future. The coach who was originally equal and equal will have to be inferior to others in the future. How can he tolerate this?

After three days of fierce competition, Lu Meng selected three thousand elite soldiers, including Yang Feng, Han Xian, Li Le and Hu Cai. Among them, Yang Feng had the largest number of troops, with more than 1,200 people, followed by Li Le, with more than 800 people, Han Xian and Hu Cai were both few, with only 45 people. At Lu Meng's suggestion, he picked up the remaining soldiers to cultivate the land, and spring plowing was about to begin, and a lot of labor was required.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Meng led his troops to leave Baibozui and camped near the twelve slopes of Baibo Valley, and sent Pang De to lead Han Xian and Li Le to the north to capture Pingyang and Yong'an.
Chapter completed!