Chapter 459 Dilemma
At critical moments, Liu Bei never lacked the courage to give it all.
The moment he learned about the current situation, Liu Bei realized that he had to fight to the death.
Coming from a humble background, he dared to gamble more than anyone else and could afford to lose more.
Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were already incredibly courageous. In their previous battles with Tian Ze, the stakes became higher and higher, and in the end they even dared to fight as hard as Liu Bei.
But in Liu Bei's eyes, it was just a routine operation.
If Wang Ye doesn't live in peace and doesn't gamble all his family fortune, it would be a desperate move.
As for the consequences, the worst that can happen is death.
To this day, Liu Bei is still resentful about Yuan Shao's withdrawal from the Central Plains War.
It's not that he can't see through the situation at the time, but he still thinks Yuan Shao is too indecisive.
It has come to that point, what is there to hesitate about? Just push forward with all your forces!
One for one in the extreme, the worst that can happen is that you lose everything, which is better than waiting to die now.
Pang Tong was not surprised at all when he heard Liu Bei's decision. He went straight to make the arrangements without looking back.
Kuai Liang and Chen Qun were a little hesitant, but seeing how determined Liu Bei was, they didn't know how to persuade him.
If the situation turns out as they expected, even if they enter Yizhou, they will face a long tug-of-war with no apparent outcome.
This kind of tug-of-war will inevitably consume a lot of Liu Bei's resources, and it can be said to be meaningless, because they will gain nothing, and the only outcome will be that both sides will suffer losses, and the other princes will benefit for nothing.
However, at this moment they really could not find any reason to stop Liu Bei, because they could not think of any other way to get out of their current predicament.
Apart from fighting hard, what else do they have compared to Tian Ze?
Jingzhou's financial resources seem to be very strong, but compared with Tianze, they are not even on the same level.
While Liu Bei was hastily preparing to fight Tian Ze, the war in the direction of Jizhou also broke out.
But Liu Bei had no time to care about this, as all his energy was focused on Yizhou at this moment.
And under Jiange, Yan Yan also suffered his miserable defeat.
When Zhang He's army entered the pass, they immediately began to occupy the advantageous terrain, controlled the city gate on the south side, and launched a fierce attack on the city wall.
The defenders of Jiange were completely stunned.
With enemies attacking fiercely from outside and their own people causing chaos from within, they were completely at a loss as to what to do.
The elite troops that Yan Yan prepared as a last resort were directly blocked by Zhang He and did not play any role at all.
Despite Yan Yan's desperate resistance, Jiange was easily lost.
Yan Yan, whose body was covered with wounds, was directly pressed down by Zhang He for treatment.
Pang De stopped throwing stones as soon as he noticed the commotion on the city wall, and his soldiers were already familiar with the attire characteristics of Zhang He's army, so they did not cause too much unnecessary damage.
Many of the defenders of Jiange were surrounded and had to take off their weapons and armor without knowing why.
This most famous pass in Yizhou fell after only holding out for a few days.
It was not because of a violent attack that the city fell, but because of the negligence of the internal defenders.
"Lingming, thank you for your hard work!"
Looking at Pang De's haggard face and the tragic scene of corpses strewn across the ground under the city wall, Zhang He sighed and patted Pang De on the shoulder.
A kind army cannot be commanded, but Pang De, as the one who gave the order, is not a cold-blooded person, so how could the pressure in his heart be small?
But for the sake of the overall situation, this is the only thing we can do.
"The general is the one who is having a hard time. I am just following orders." Pang De said in a deep voice. With a strong will, he was very open-minded about it and did not think too much about it.
There is no such thing as death in war.
For the sake of the overall situation, he would not hesitate even if it meant his death.
Compared to him, Zhang He, who took risks personally as the commander-in-chief and marched thousands of miles for more than ten days without rest, was the one who was really hard-working.
His originally high-spirited face now looked dusty and dusty due to days of traveling, not to mention his physical and mental fatigue.
The key to this battle lies in Zhang He's surprise troops.
Otherwise, even if he is given another month, he may not be able to take over the Sword Pavilion.
"Okay, now is not the time to relax." The usually frivolous man said solemnly after arranging and dealing with the finishing issues.
"You should take a quick rest for a day. Tomorrow, leave 10,000 defenders behind and continue to march south in two groups, one to attack Chengdu and the other to attack Baidi City. You must capture both as soon as possible and block the opening before Liu Bei's main force arrives."
Taking Jiange is just the beginning.
Liu Bei was unwilling to fight a war of attrition in Yizhou and Tian Ze, so how could Tian Ze be willing to do so?
But neither side would ever give in on the issue of Yizhou, so this war was almost inevitable.
Unless Liu Bei's main army was blocked east of Jiangzhou and prevented from entering Yizhou.
However, Zhang He’s army did not have enough troops.
Both Zhang He and Pang De knew this, but they didn't say anything.
For the sake of the overall situation, some risks have to be taken and some battles have to be fought. Even if the battle is a failure tactically, it is necessary strategically.
Even after the reunion, their current military strength south of Jiange is only over 100,000.
Liu Fan alone may have an army of more than 100,000 between Jiange and Chengdu, and they have to divide their forces to defeat the enemy and attack the city, which is quite difficult.
However, compared to this, the other route to attack Baidi City is more difficult.
You know, Baidi City is a place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and even if it is taken, they will still have to face Liu Bei's main force that is almost out in full force.
How to allocate troops became the top issue.
"Your Majesty has already dispatched an additional 100,000 troops to Hanzhong. After receiving the news that we have captured Jiange, they will come to support us as soon as possible. We only need to hold on for another month or two." Guo Jia first comforted.
Tian Ze's troop deployment follows the overall strategy. If the attack on Jiange fails, these troops will be mainly used for the construction and garrison of Hanzhong.
However, if the war goes well, they can be sent to support Yizhou.
But it still takes time.
In the past, all three parties were racing against time, but now both parties are racing against time. Liu Fan has almost lost his choice.
"Chengdu must be taken. This is the top priority." Guo Jia set the tone.
He knew the characters of Zhang He and Pang De. They were both honest men and were used to suffering losses.
But things have their priorities. Although it should not be a problem to capture Chengdu, after all, there are many "insiders" in Chengdu. But who dares to guarantee it? The troops on this side must not be less.
Even if we take Chengdu and lose Baidi City, at least we can still fight with Liu Bei here.
If Chengdu cannot be taken, even if Baidi City is occupied, they will probably be driven out of the Yizhou Basin, and the best outcome would be to retreat to Jiange.
"Ling Ming, I will give you 30,000 troops. Do you dare?"
(End of this chapter)
