Chapter 21: The New Wilderness Refugees

  Two days later, Sun Shangxiang really settled down here. She gave Zhuge Jun 10 taels of gold, and he accepted it because he was afraid she would be uneasy in her mind. Her 'nature' is restless, and it's not the first time she has lived with relatives outside, Wu Guotai also allowed her to do so.

  Early in the morning, Sun Shangxiang habitually led the 'female' soldiers to practice sword fighting, but was startled by the voices from Zhuge Jun's courtyard.

  The Zhuge family's square dance team has now expanded, not only with Zhuge Jun and others, but also with Dajie's family joining in. Erniang dances very professionally, and the two children are also quite skilled.

  Sun Shangxiang and others arrived at Zhuge Jun's courtyard, where they saw the whole family singing strange songs and dancing in unison, simple yet elegant, each one full of energy.

  Yesterday, Huang Yueying got to know Sun Shangxiang. After dancing for a while, Huang Yueying came over and invited them to teach her and the 'female' soldiers. Before long, the square dance team expanded again.

  Sun Shangxiang has been practicing martial arts for many years, and her figure is well-developed. Her upper body is curvaceous, while her lower body has a pair of slender legs that are as straight as jade. Due to exercise, a few strands of loose hair float around her swan-like neck, making her look even more charming.

  Zhuge stood in the back row, looking at her youthful and beautiful body in front of him, thinking to himself: "Liu Bei that old man really got a good deal."

  History has its own inertia. What Zhuge Qian was worried about still happened.

  Zhuge Liang designed the fire attack on Cao's army at Bozhou Slope, defeating Xiahou Chun and annihilating nearly 20,000 of Cao's soldiers with just a few thousand men and horses, earning him great prestige and winning over Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others who had previously been skeptical of him.

  Zhuge Liang advised Liu Bei to take advantage of Liu Biao's serious illness and seize Jingzhou. However, Liu Bei said he couldn't bear to take advantage of someone in a crisis and refused to accept his opinion. He took a step back and said that Xinye was too small and should be abandoned, retreating to Jiangxia to join forces with Liu Qi. Liu Bei and the others were still confident after their recent victory over Cao's army, so no one paid attention to his opinion. He took another step back and suggested relocating the families of officials in advance, saying they could be brought back once things had settled down.

  This small change in fate changed the fate of Mrs. Mei, and the story of Liu Bei throwing his child also disappeared.

  Cao Cao scolded Xiahou Dun a few words, saying that he had been leading troops for many years and yet did not guard against Liu Bei's use of fire in narrow places. He also comforted him by saying that victory and defeat were common occurrences in the military, and that they should regroup and fight again. Cao Cao was determined to eliminate Liu Bei, so he raised another army of 500,000 to attack Jingzhou.

  Zhuge Liang again advised Liu Bei to abandon Xinye, but Liu Bei disagreed. Helpless, Zhuge Liang could only design another defeat of the Cao army vanguard at Xinye. Everyone in Liu Bei's camp was overjoyed, thinking that they could hold onto Xinye after all.

  Unexpectedly, Cao Cao personally led the main force of 200,000 troops to approach Xinye, among which there were a large number of cavalrymen, including elite guards. This guard was led by Xu Chu, Cao Cao's confidant, and its personnel were selected from the entire army, having undergone rigorous training, similar to modern special forces, and all were cavalrymen, with tens of thousands of horses and men.

  Liu Bei and others were flustered and thought Zhuge Liang's opinion was correct. However, it was already too late to retreat at this time.

  Liu Bei's army was mainly infantry, and Jiangxia is 369 kilometers away from here. Even if the infantry doesn't eat or sleep, walking 100 miles a day would take seven days. Cao Cao's cavalry isn't something to be trifled with.

  At this time, Zhuge Liang could only do his best and leave the rest to fate. He suggested sending Guan Yu immediately to Jiangxia to ask Liu Qi to send troops to Changban Slope for support, while setting up ambushes to cover each other, Zhao Yun was in charge of the first line of defense, Zhang Fei was in charge of the second line of defense. Disperse and train the poorly trained militia, and withdraw the main force with light equipment.

  Liu Bei, apart from disagreeing with dispersing the civilian army, did everything else. For more and faster chapters, please go to [website]. Everyone left, Liu Bei felt both regretful and resentful, thinking that even if they escaped like this, they would probably still not be able to avoid being pursued by Cao Cao's elite guard, because of their temporary attachment to Xinye, they had now fallen into a desperate situation. What to do?

  At this time, a trusted advisor beside him presented a plan. Liu Bei was shocked after hearing it and said: "Unacceptable, I will never do such a thing."

  The confidant said: "The master has the world in his heart, and trivial matters need not be taken to heart. For the sake of the great Han dynasty's eternal foundation, one must have a broad 'chest'."

  After a long silence, Liu Bei finally nodded. His confidant then retreated.

  Zhao Yun accepted the order and led his soldiers to survey the terrain. When they arrived at a village, they saw a group of people gathered at the entrance of the village, with someone giving a speech in the middle. As soon as they approached, the speaker left. Zhao Yun found it strange and walked over.

  He asked an old man in the crowd: "Old man, what are you doing?"

  The old man said in a panic: "Just now that person said Cao's army is about to arrive and will kill all the civilians here. He said Liu Xianggong has prepared houses and land for us in Jiangxia, and asked us to follow him to Jiangxia. People from other villages have already rushed to the county town. General, do you think Cao will kill us ordinary people?"

  This question made Zhao Yun unable to answer. To say that Cao Cao would slaughter innocent civilians, Zhao Yun wouldn't believe it, but if he said he wouldn't, he himself didn't dare guarantee it either.

  He thought for a moment, shook his head and said: "I don't know." Then he led the horse away. He wondered who that person was and why he said to take the people away, as he hadn't heard anything about it.

  He returned to the barracks, and his subordinates reported that many civilians had inquired about migration matters. He felt something was wrong, so he came to ask Zhuge Liang.

  Zhuge Liang also heard the report that many civilians in the countryside were gathering towards the county town, and upon seeing Zhao Yun say this, he felt that things were somewhat serious.

  After the fire in Xinye, Zhuge Liang saw that many civilians' houses were destroyed, so he arranged for them to be given food and compensation to rebuild their homes. However, he found that many people wanted to follow Liu Bei to Jiangxia. He personally asked several civilians, who said they were worried that Cao Cao would come and take revenge on them, and asked Zhuge Liang if he would do the same.

  Like Zhao Yun, Zhuge Liang also cannot answer this question.

  That day, a large crowd of people gathered near the city of Xinye, and more and more came. Zhuge Liang sent someone to ask about the situation, and the people all said that it was rumored that Cao Cao would slaughter the people. They saw others leaving and didn't dare stay behind, so they followed along.

  Zhuge Liang hastily came to find Liu Bei, and Liu Bei also said he didn't know what was going on. Zhuge Liang said: "My lord, things are not good, we must quickly quell the rumors and calm the people's hearts." Liu Bei said: "Yes, with the common people, it's not easy for us to retreat?"

  At this time, Xiao Xiao reported: "Report to the lord, there are more than 100,000 refugees outside the county city, and they want to see the lord." Liu Bei said: "Go, go and see the refugees."

  Watch the genuine content at the first time!