After hearing Feng Ji's words, Liu Bei was so impressed that he was overwhelmed with joy. This time he was really picking up treasures. If it weren't for Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi's brothers, Jizhou and Ru Ying's brothers were fighting openly and secretly, Feng Ji had no place to go, and would never have fallen into his hands.

A wise man is a wise man, knowledgeable, well-versed in the past and modern times, and can see through thoroughly. In fact, he knew everything about Feng Ji, but he didn't expect it to be so thorough. He always felt that there was a layer of difference. If Feng Ji had not pointed it out for him, he might never have seen it.

Guan Jing is also a smart person, but he is still slightly inferior to Feng Ji.

Liu Bei thanked Feng Ji again and asked for advice on strategies. Feng Ji told Liu Bei that aristocratic families are the foundation of the world, and whether it is talent, material resources, or financial resources, aristocratic families have obvious advantages. Ordinary people don’t even know words. What else can they do besides farming and fighting? Sun Ce opened a bookstore to allow ordinary people to read books. This is of course a benevolent government, but just knowing how to govern the people and how to fight. These all require inheritance. They cannot be understood by reading two books, and there is no one in the books.

All of these are in the hands of the aristocratic families.

To take a step back, even if Sun Ce succeeds, it is useless, because ordinary people have studied, have the ability, and accumulate merits, they become a new aristocratic family. Aristocratic families are not fallen from the sky, but are also formed by the accumulation of generations of ordinary people. Therefore, the true heart of the people refers to the heart of aristocratic family. Only with the support of aristocratic families can there be a possibility of victory. The ancestors of the past were like this, but still this is the case today. If Sun Ce wanted to survive, he would definitely be like this in the future.

Liu Bei listened with relish and regretted it. It was a pity that he failed to study hard when he was studying with Lu Zhi. Lu Zhi was a great scholar with both civil and military skills. He was not only good at learning, but also rich political experience. He was stronger than Feng Ji. If he had studied hard at that time, why would he understand these principles until today and took so many detours?

No wonder Lu Yu looked down on me. I am really not a good student of Master Lu.

Feng Ji then analyzed for Liu Bei. After Shen You captured Qingzhou for so long, did the people of Qingzhou surrender? I'm afraid it may not be possible. There are two reasons: one is that the time is still short, and the other is that Sun Ce's new policy is not popular with aristocratic families. After years of war, the people of Qingzhou died and ran away, especially the major epidemic in Chuping, most of the people went to Yuzhou, and the rest were aristocratic families with families and wealthy families. If Sun Ce wanted to implement the new policy, he would take away the land from them. Not to mention whether there were people in the land to seize the land, the powerful families in Qingzhou could not accept this condition.

Therefore, Sun Ce has never implemented the new policy in Qingzhou, but only farmed. The powerful families in Qingzhou still remain independent. As long as they have the opportunity, they will definitely break up with Sun Ce. Otherwise, when Sun Ce unifies the world, they will sooner or later end up like the Yuzhou family.

Feng Ji said: "For the general, this is an opportunity. The general is a royal family. Although his bloodline is alienated, he is still the descendants of Emperor Gao. If he can learn from Tian Kai's lesson in Qingzhou and not be enemies with a noble family, he may gain the support of the noble family. It is easiest to improve his doorstep during the rise and fall. As long as the general makes merits, gets promoted to a title, or even re-lists of the clan, it is not difficult."

Liu Bei nodded repeatedly and took a lot of effort to endure the joy in his heart. The emperor had an edict to him before, promising that as long as he made contributions, he could re-list him as a clan. Now Feng Ji also said so, it seems that this matter is worthy of serious consideration. As for the step that the court in Chang'an can take, it is not the key to him. As long as he can have the capital to command the world, he doesn't care where this capital comes from.

Liu Bei wanted to ask Feng Ji, if the hearts of the people were in the aristocratic family, would the final winner be Yuan Tan? But thinking about Feng Ji's identity, he decided to ask again later. If Feng Ji only came to help him on Yuan Tan's order, there was no answer. No matter what, defeat Sun Ce first.

The two discussed for a long time, and Feng Ji finally formulated a plan for Liu Bei: Xiangdong and face Shen You.

As of now, there are two people who may reinforce Licheng: one is Ji Ling from Rencheng, and the other is Shen You from Beihai. Ji Ling came from Rencheng and had to pass through Jibei and Mount Tai. It is inevitable to contact Cao Ang. The situation is too complicated, so it is more appropriate to hand it over to Yuan Tan. Yuan Tan also has cavalry, and Cao Ang is his old official, which is more convenient for him to deal with. Shen You is different. From Licheng to the east, there are no dangerous passes and blockades, and the terrain is flat, suitable for cavalry running. There are many aristocratic families along the way, and the supply is more convenient. Shen You also has cavalry, but the number is limited, with only about a thousand people, which cannot pose a real threat to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei thought about it for a while and agreed.

The next day, Liu Bei discussed with Yuan Tan and decided to lead his troops to fight Shen You. As soon as he explained the reason why Feng Ji analyzed for him, Yuan Tan agreed, accepted Liu Bei's plan, and allocated another ten days of food and fodder. Gaotang only had more than one hundred miles to Licheng, which was a one-day journey for the cavalry. Ten days of food and fodder were enough to deal with some emergencies.

Liu Bei received the food and fodder, then set off, led 10,000 cavalry across the dry river, passed by the city of Gaotang, and ran towards Licheng.

Zhu Ran stood at the top of the city, looking at the Youzhou cavalry outside the city, couldn't help but sneer, gently broke a piece of calculation in his hand, raised his hand, and threw it down on the top of the city.

Liu Bei was indeed here, and he was personally commanding the troops. The king was right, this man had no loyalty and righteousness, and sooner or later there would be a battle.

He looked carefully at Liu Bei's battle flag, compared it with the information collected in advance to confirm the general who led the troops. In addition to Liu Bei himself, he also saw Zhang Fei's battle flag, Zhao Yun's battle flag, and the battle flag that he led, but Guan Yu's battle flag. It seems that Guan Yu was left in Youzhou. This is understandable. Taishi Ci is in Liaodong, and Liu Bei has to guard against it. Only Guan Yu can block Taishi Ci. Moreover, Guan Yu is stubborn and unruly, and Liu Bei cannot control him easily. Keeping him in Youzhou is the best choice.

When he thought of Guan Yu, Zhu Ran couldn't help but laugh. He was around the King of Wu, and he held on several occasions that the King of Wu used Guan Yu to hit Zhu Huan, saying that people should be proud, but not arrogant. Guan Yu was extremely brave, but he was too arrogant to get along with his colleagues, which would eventually hurt him. Although he had to be the first in command of troops to fight, he had to be vigilant. No matter how brave a person was, he could not win a war. The real victory must come from unity, and the trust and support of his colleagues.

At that time, I just listened and felt it very hard. Now he is also in charge of troops and fighting. He commanded 5,000 troops for the first time and held Gaotang. The pressure was self-evident. Yuan Tan had arrived, and the cavalry was interspersed behind him. It was too late to leave now. He could only place his hopes on Xu Kun, Shen You and others. Only when they could complete the pre-defended combat plan, he had the opportunity to make achievements. If Licheng was lost, Gaotang would be an isolated city and it would be difficult to persevere until the end.

"I hope Pang Jijiu will live up to the name of Feng Chu." Zhu Ran thought of the energetic young man and chuckled. As a young general around the King of Wu, Zhu Ran was always curious about Pang Tong. The king used the Fiery Phoenix as his name, but Pang Tong used the Fiery Phoenix as his name, which inevitably reminds people of something. However, Pang Tong was Sun Ce's first attendant, and the friendship between them was indeed not comparable to other people.

The combat plan designed by Pang Tong this time was very similar to the style of King Wu. It seemed bold, but it was extremely exquisite. When it was first proposed, the two governors Shen You and Xu Kun did not agree. They felt that this plan was too risky. Only he was happy to see the hunt, and immediately agreed and took the initiative to undertake the most dangerous part of the task.

After Liu Bei entered Jinan, Yuan Tan immediately surrounded Gaotang City, and a hundred thousand troops surrounded Gaotang City.

Ju Shu's plan was to take Gaotang City first regardless of whether Liu Bei could succeed or not, and solve his worries. Gaotang was near the river and the Yellow River was reopened in the future. The food and supplies from Jizhou and the supplies from Gaotang were most convenient to cross the river from Gaotang, and they must not be controlled by Zhu Ran. Of course, he did not oppose using Gaotang as bait and forced Xu Kun, Shen You and even Sun Ce to come all the way to rescue him.

Therefore, while Yuan Tan ordered the construction of armies and preparations for siege, he ordered people to dig trenches and prepare to block reinforcements. Considering that there were many soldiers composed of various troops and their combat effectiveness, he also wanted to use the attack on Gaotang to train troops and train the siege skills of these troops. The elite soldiers under his command were trained when fighting with Liu Bei in Zhuo County. Practice has proved that there is a big difference between practicing and not practicing.

A few days later, Liu Bei heard news. His advance was very smooth. With Feng Ji's assistance, the noble families and powerful families in Qingzhou also cooperated very well. Not only did they provide him with food and supplies, and let his subordinates go to the fort and the manor to rest, they also sent people to lead the way for him to inquire about the news. There was only one accident: Shen You did not intend to send troops to reinforce Licheng. He was still in Linzi, and all other counties gave up, and there were not even a few guards.

The situation in Jinan is similar. Xu Kun defended Licheng, with five or six thousand soldiers from Jiangdong, and more than two counties, the guards were tightly guarded.

Of course, the granaries of Zhuxian County were also empty. It is said that shortly after the autumn harvest, Xu Kun and Shen You ordered the counties to deliver the collected grain to Licheng and Linzi. Not long ago, the grain stored in Zhuxian County was once again collected. Now, the two cities have reserved food that can be eaten for at least two years, which is clearly the one who must defend the two cities.

Liu Bei had only cavalry and could not attack the city. Linzi was more than 300 miles away from Gaotang. If Shen You didn't leave the city, it would be meaningless to go east. Moreover, rivers east of Linzi were crisscrossing, which was not convenient for cavalry marching. Therefore, Liu Bei made a suggestion, hoping that Yuan Tan would authorize him to recruit infantry on the spot, gather troops from various counties and countries, and surround Linzi.

After repeated consideration, Yuan Tan rejected Liu Bei's suggestion and asked him to remain mobile to prevent Sun Ce or others from landing from Donglai, or going north from Xuzhou. As for the task of capturing the three cities, the infantry led by him would complete it. The troops of the Qingzhou family could defend the city but not necessarily attack the city. Their combat effectiveness was worrying, and hasty to fight would only increase casualties.
Chapter completed!