Liu Bei and his party had about two thousand men, including two hundred cavalry and one thousand eight hundred infantry. They protected the convoy of officials' families and left the gate of Zhuo County and walked northward.

After walking for about fifty miles, the team reached a Takasaka. From a distance, I saw the water appearing on the horizon.

Looking northwest, there is the continuous Yanshan Mountains, and the water winds out from the Yanshan Mountains.

In the low-lying place in front, there is a classic border town surrounded by earthen walls and slightly broken. There is no special moat excavation, only the north of the city is just right next to the water.

This is Liangxiang County where Liu Bei is about to take office.

"Xuande, why don't you leave? After sitting in the car for a long time, I will hold my breath. If the army rests, I will go down and take a walk, just in the high place to get some air."

In a carriage behind Liu Bei, an old man, who was nearly 50 years old, poked his head out and asked hoarsely.

Liu Bei was observing the terrain, but he heard the sound and quickly turned around: "Uncle, be careful, I will help you."

As he said that, Liu Bei came forward to help him.

Zhao Yun, who was caring for the family convoy, originally rushed in front of Liu Bei, but Liu Bei gently brushed his arm away. Zhao Yun also had a wink and quickly stopped, not hindering his lord from doing his filial piety himself.

On the other side, there was also a man about 25 years old and a little younger than Liu Bei. He hurriedly jumped out of the carriage, held the old man's other arm, and said, "Father, be careful."

It turned out that this old man was Liu Yuanqi, the uncle who paid money to sponsor him to study in Luoyang after Liu Bei lost his father.

The young man next to him who looks similar to Liu Bei, but his arms are not as long as Liu Bei and his ears are his cousin Liu Deran.

Liu Yuanqi and Liu Deran and his son have been lost in history since then. It is probably when Liu Bei fled to the world and Youzhou was robbed by Zhang Chun.

But in this life, Li Su helped Liu Bei report Zhang Chun in advance. Liu Bei could not only protect his family, but also become the county magistrate. Everything was different.

Liu Deran's knowledge is indeed more rigid than Liu Bei. But he and Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan are brothers, and at least Lu Zhi taught them. Now that he survived, he works with his cousin, and his abilities are comparable to Jian Yong.

It is even more rare because of his identity as a classmate and cousin, and he is obviously trusted by Liu Bei.

Uncle Liu Yuanqi, leaning on the crutch, stood on the slope for a while and sighed, "Oh, I have lived in Zhuo County for most of my life, and I never expected that there would be a day to move."

Liu Bei quickly stated: "It is a mistake to let my uncle move. Fortunately, Liangxiang is only sixty miles away from Zhuo County, and I can get used to it soon. Now that the war is in chaos, it is safe to have troops around you."

Liu Yuanqi smiled softly: "What are you saying! If Xuande had not recruited volunteers to protect his neighbors, I am afraid that after the Dan Duwei rescued Gong Qi Chou's death last month, those Wuhuan cavalry who came to Zhuo County to loot would have already broken the city!

I heard that even the emperor has heard of your righteous act of abandoning your official position to protect your neighbors? Along the way, Deran and the others told me a lot about your current glory."

"If I had no uncle, how could I have studied abroad? Everything is what I should do, and no matter what I do, it is not enough to repay my uncle's great kindness."

Liu Bei said a lot of gratitude, although he talked about it, but it also came from the heart.

In the end, Liu Yuanqi told him to stop and he was not polite, so Liu Bei stopped him.

Liu Yuanqi got in the car again and coughed a few times: "I won't say this anymore, but today, you and my uncle and nephew can have such a situation, so that you can be loyal and filial, protect your neighbors, and your official position will not be reduced but rise. You cannot forget the friend you mentioned... who taught you to abandon your official position and seek fame. Our Liu family, who is helped by others, should be grateful."

Liu Bei calmed down and promised his uncle: "That's natural. I treat Boya as similar to Deran. If you talk about knowledge and strategy, you will see him as both a teacher and a friend. My uncle's teachings are in my heart."

...

Liu Bei told his uncle and cousin about his friendship with Li Su along the way, and soon arrived at the gate of the county town.

Liangxiang County now has no county magistrate, so Liu Bei doesn’t have to hand over his previous relationship with his ex-girlfriend - the former county magistrate died in the Zhang Chun Rebellion.

The only one with the highest position in the county was the county magistrate, named Qi Jing, so he introduced the situation in the county to Liu Bei.

"I am not a good job in the county magistrate Qi Jing, and I will meet the county magistrate. Duke Xuande is famous in the capital. It is a blessing for the people to come to Liang Township to serve." Qi Jing had been waiting outside the city gate for a long time. When he saw Liu Bei, he brought the minor officials and the yamen runners to greet him.

Liu Bei was slightly uncomfortable.

Two months ago, he was a county magistrate and served as a county magistrate for more than two years. So he knew what the posture of the county magistrate and other officials were in front of the county magistrate.

This Qi County Magistrate is too humble and cautious, right?

"Hurry and avoid gifts. I'm just here for the first time. I hope you can work together and be diligent in the affairs of the king, so there is no need to be too polite." Liu Bei is also always buying people's hearts. Of course, he knows how to get along with his subordinates and the masses.

"Duke Xuande is too humble. Yesterday I heard that Duke is the first good minister and capable official to be exempted from paying the imperial edict of the emperor to take office. Such a great master who is loyal and righteous in the world can come to my good hometown. Isn't it a privilege for the people in the whole city to bow? " Qi Jing insisted on bowing and handed over a bowl of sake.

Liu Bei felt a little embarrassed, but judging from this attitude, he would not stop if he didn't drink it, so he drank it quickly.

While drinking, Liu Bei was actually quite proud, but his expression was not written on his face: I didn’t expect that our deeds would spread so quickly!

Liu Bei marched to Liangxiang with his army, so he walked slowly and spent a whole day on the road. It was probably because of some business travelers passing by, the kind of businessmen who rode fast horses and arrived first before him, spreading the big news.

According to this trend, within ten days, the surrounding counties must have known that he did not pay for the palace repair money, and it is not impossible for him to spread throughout Youzhou within one month.

It is much more convenient for future work!

On the other hand, Qi Jing took the county officials and continued to pour wine to Zhang Fei, Jian Yong and Zhao Yun one by one.

Zhao Yun actually did not have any official position. His Qu Junhou was self-proclaimed by Liu Bei. However, Zhao Yun made contributions to protecting Liu Bei's family. Liu Bei attached importance to him and rewarded him with a set of polished fish-scale iron armor and a bright heart protection mirror (the Mingguang armor was not yet mature at that time).

The county officials saw that he was well-equipped and thought that he was just like Zhang Fei, and secretly sighed that County Magistrate Liu's troops were really well-equipped.

But they didn't know that a considerable number of these equipment and horses were all ordered by Zhang Chun to ask the Zhen family. However, because the incident happened too quickly, they didn't have time to pick up the goods, so they got cheaper Liu Bei.

After the two sides handed over, Liu Bei also made a lot of face and walked together and led him to the county government.

Along the way, Liu Bei also asked Qi Jing about the recent battle situation in the county and what Shangguan had to set up defense requirements. Qi Jing answered one by one:

"You are good at teaching Liu Gong learned that the defense area of ​​this county is currently under the jurisdiction of Zou Jing, the captain of the Polu in this prefecture. Zou Wang is in charge of this county, Changping County, Guangyang County, Yuyang County, Yuyang County, and Yuyang County, and is deployed along Yanshan Mountain.

The troops of the three counties were required to block and defend the Yanshan Pass and prevent Zhang Chun from rushing into the hinterland of the three counties. If the rebels attacked, the troops of the three counties should also watch over and help each other. The friendly troops of the other two counties were governed by the commander of Guangyang Jiao Chu and Yuyang Zhang Nan, and were all under the jurisdiction of Zou Xiaowei."

After all, Liu Bei is a local and is familiar with the geographical situation, so after roughly sorting it out, he completely understood the status quo.

The Great Wall was also built in the Han Dynasty, but because the strategic status of Ji County was not very important during the Han Dynasty, the Great Wall in Youzhou was single-story, no longer as compared to the Ming Dynasty Great Wall in later generations, there were two Great Walls near the capital.

The Han Great Wall was built on the border between Shanggu and Dai County and Wuhuan, which was equivalent to the Zhangjiakou generation in later generations and the outer Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty.

In the Yanshan Mountain area northwest of Ji County, there are Juyongguan and Badaling in the Ming Great Wall, while the Han Dynasty was just a primitive forest. However, the terrain of this mountain area itself is also relatively steep and can play a certain role in blocking the army.

In addition, this generation is the junction of the four counties of Shanggu, Zhuo, Guangyang and Yuyang, so the management is complicated. If the army wants to cross Yanshan, they can only choose to march along the water valley. In addition, other mountain roads have to be abandoned lightly, and they cannot bring food, grass and supplies.

Therefore, the key to defense is to block the water valley!

It just so happened that the water had three tributaries, flowing through Liangxiang County in Zhuo County - this tributary was the Yongding River in Fangshan, a suburb of Beijing in later generations.

The other two tributaries are Changping County, Guangyang County, and Yuyang County (Miyun) in Yuyang County. The three tributaries finally merge in Yongnu County (Wuqing, Tianjin) and inject into the Bohai Sea.

Blocking the exits of the three river valleys of the Yongding River flowing out of Yanshan Mountain blocked the spread of Zhang Chun's army. Zhang Chun was temporarily trapped in Shanggu County, as well as the eastern part of Dai County and the northwest of Yuyang County, which borders Shanggu County. Zhang Chun could only control the territory equivalent to the two counties and could not plunder and absorb more materials. (It was equivalent to the territory outside Juyongguan and within Zhangjiakou in later generations. During the Han Dynasty, this generation was mainly nomadic grasslands, and it was a pastoral area with Wuhuan people in it)

Before the court assembled enough troops to counterattack, this was the safest tactic in the stalemate stage.

After all, the Wuhuan soldiers who were tempted by Zhang Chun did not really support Zhang Chun. They just had no money to send it, but they followed Zhang Chun after they promised that they could rob them at will. So as long as they blocked them and did not give them "resources" to them, the Wuhuan people would gradually become dissatisfied with Zhang Chun and have internal conflicts.

Among these three Yongding Valleys that need to be defended, the one that Liu Bei wants to defend is relatively difficult to get away from, and the threat should be lighter.

The road conditions are the best and the easiest way to become Zhang Chun’s main attack direction should be the Changping Road in front of Ji County. History has also proved that Juyongguan and Badaling were built on this road, which shows that this is the most important point of defense.

However, more than a month ago, when Zhang Chun killed the Wuhuan Captain Gong Qi Chou, he suddenly attacked that generation, so that the imperial army did not fully control Changping Road at present.

The Juyongguan area at the south entrance of Changping Road is now under the control of Zou Jing and Jiao Chu, but the Badaling at the north entrance is currently occupied by Zhang Chun's generals, and camps have also been set up in Badaling.

...

After Liu Bei found out the situation in the county, he decided to start the defense immediately.

He first asked Qi Jing: "Seiwei Zou wants us to guard it? Shuihe Valley, can there be camps, passes and other facilities left by the imperial army and horses?"

Qi Jing: "15 miles north of the county town, at the Yanshan Pass, there is a camp left by the guards that Duwei Shan left before his death in battle. It has been burned by fire and is very broken and needs rest. There is no pass."

Liu Bei nodded and ordered Zhang Fei: "Yide, please order a thousand people first and follow me to the old village ruins left by Shan Duwei. The remaining half of the people will be left behind in the county town. I will send you the military rations from the county town."

Zhang Fei led his troops to set off without saying a word.

When Liu Bei arrived at the place, he saw a ruined camp all over the ground. It seemed that repairing would cost a lot of money and food.

He climbed up high again and looked at the mountain. After thinking for a long time, he frowned and asked Qi Jing who followed him:

"There has never been a beacon tower along Yanshan Mountain? How can we cooperate in the river estuaries of the three counties? When Zhang Chun's army concentrated on attacking one of the river valleys, would the reinforcements at the other two valleys have to wait for the fast horses to communicate the military information? That would have to be delayed at least a few more hours."

Liu Bei could see at a glance that although there was no Great Wall here, it would be better to build a few beacon towers.
Chapter completed!