The twelve slopes are in the middle of Baibo Valley, on the east bank of Fen River. The Fen River turns a bend here, eroding the loess westward, forming a steep slope that is almost straight up and down. The east bank is a river valley, rising layer by layer, with obvious slopes of twelve levels, so it is called the twelve slopes. The twelve slopes are divided into the south slope and the north slope, like two handrails of several, surrounding the valley in the middle.

Lu Meng set up the camp in this river valley.

Although it occupied the favorable terrain, Lu Meng was not satisfied. He seized the time to train these newly reorganized Baibo Army. The number of Baibo soldiers was large, but not many of them had real combat experience. If it were not counted in the Battle of Linfen half a month ago, the last battle between Baibo Army was still fighting Niu Fu ten years ago. Ten years have passed, and the main force of that year has grown old. Although the young new recruits have good physical strength, their combat skills are terrible.

Lu Meng discussed with Yang Cheng and Hu Cai to conduct intensive training for their subordinates. The most important point was to draw some veterans from the Wu army to their subordinates as military marquis, and the team leader. Yang Cheng was Yang Feng's younger brother. Yang Feng was in Jianye. From time to time, news came to talk about the prosperity of Jianye and the preparations for the throne ceremony. Yang Cheng recognized the most of the Wu Kingdom, so he naturally wanted to make more military achievements and agreed with Lu Meng's suggestions.

Hu Cai had some ideas, but his strength was not as good as others. Seeing that Yang Cheng agreed, he had to agree. He proposed that he had only more than 400 people and only two songs. He was nominally a general of the Central Army, but in fact he was a commander. If the military marquis of both songs were replaced and there was no place to arrange people, could he ask the people arranged by Lu Meng to be fake military marquis to assist the existing military marquis in training?

Lu Meng knew Hu Cai's concerns and agreed. In order to appease Hu Cai, he gave Hu Cai thirty sets of armor so that Hu Cai could equip his personal guards, and promised that there would be prisoners in the future that Hu Cai could select young and strong people from them, add two songs, and gather a thousand people. Hu Cai was very satisfied and had a much positive attitude.

After dealing with Yang Feng and Hu Cai, Lu Meng convened a meeting of generals above the Marquis of the Army and selected more than 20 people from his subordinates, and went to Yang Feng. Hu Cai was appointed as the Qujun, a fake Marquis of the Army and the soldiers to assist in the training of troops. These people were old subordinates who had followed Lu Meng for many years, and most of them had entered the martial arts lecture hall to study, so they naturally knew what Lu Meng thought. After taking office, they immediately promoted and mobilized these Baibo troops.

Their method is simple and direct. First, it explains the military system of the Wu army, focusing on military pay and promotion system, and various benefits that can be enjoyed by joining the army. Then, let the Baibo army soldiers compare various military skills with the old subordinates they have led. Those who win will be promoted and those who lose will be demoted.

These Baibo soldiers were elite soldiers who had just been selected from tens of thousands of people. They were somewhat arrogant. Seeing that Wu's army was so good, they wanted to show it. However, in several competitions, there were very few winners, and most of them were beaten to the point of being beaten to the point of being blue and swollen, and they were defeated. Sometimes one or two of them had superb martial arts and brave combat, but their companions were not powerful and could not stop the opponent's five-man attack, and they were eventually defeated.

These people are all rough people. Many people don’t even know their own names and don’t understand any big principles, but they know that big fists are cruel. They are convinced and obey these new military marquis.

Time is tight and there is no time to teach too many tactics. Lu Meng concentrates on training their mountain tactics. Mountain battles are mainly small-scale confrontations, and there are few people who directly participate in the battle. They can be carried out at the same time. They can be used as a venue by choosing a mountain. Offense, defense, individual training in the morning, actual combat in the afternoon, analyzing gains and losses in the evening, rewarding on merits, and real cashing in real time. In a few days, Bai Bo's army made obvious progress and its spirit has also improved a lot. Yang Feng and Hu Cai saw it and enjoyed it in their hearts.

At this moment, when Lu Meng received the news from the scout, Liu Bei led 50,000 infantry and cavalry to come to Baibo Valley with great momentum.

Although he was a little surprised that Liu Bei came so quickly, Lu Meng was not nervous and immediately summoned the generals to discuss matters and prepare for the battle.

Zhang Fei led 10,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry to the Baibo Valley first.

Shortly after leaving, former military advisor Jia Kui told Zhang Fei that although Baibo Valley is the key, the most important thing is not Baibo Valley, but Yong'an. The reason is very simple. There are some small roads on the east side of Baibo Valley, but they are difficult to walk, and there is a shortage of water and it is not suitable for large army to advance. Small groups of people can still walk. If Lu Meng got Yong'an, even if Baibo Valley was lost, he could still strangle the road to retreat to Bingzhou. On the contrary, if Lu Meng failed to control Yong'an, even if Baibo Valley was unbreakable, he would not be able to completely stop Liu Bei from retreating to Bingzhou, but he just created some difficulties.

Zhang Fei felt strange and asked Jia Kui: "Why didn't you tell the King of Zhongshan during the military discussion?"

Jia Kui smiled bitterly and said after a long time, "I heard that the general was once a general of the King of Wu, and the 18-year-old snake spear in his hand was also given to the King of Wu?"

Zhang Fei glanced at the Snake Spear in his hand and sighed. "It's true that the military advisor said."

"The general thinks that if the King of Wu leads his troops, can Hedong defend?"

Zhang Fei smiled, smiling a little reluctantly. "The King of Wu has not arrived in person, and now it is Lu Su who is commanding the troops."

"General, even if the Baibo Valley is conquered, less than half of the people occupied by the King of Zhongshan are lost, and the fertile land is mostly owned by Lu Su. How can we support tens of thousands of troops?"

Zhang Fei couldn't laugh. He knew very little about the situation in Hedong, but Jia Kui was a local. He had served as a county magistrate and was familiar with household registration, money and grain. He said he could not hold on, so he would definitely not hold on. What he was puzzled was that since Jia Kui knew, Pei Qian and others naturally knew why they didn't tell Liu Bei about this? Now the army's money and grain are mainly supplied by them. If they said they could not hold on, Liu Bei would have to leave.

"Jun Jia, Fei Ben Wufu, is not very familiar with Hedong, so I hope Jia will give me some advice."

Jia Kui knew Zhang Fei's questions, but he couldn't tell them directly. Pei Qian and the others didn't know this, but they couldn't bear to give up their own industries and would not give up as long as there was a glimmer of hope. If he revealed the facts to Zhang Fei and Pan, it would be equivalent to revealing the truth of Pei Qian and others, and he would not be able to gain a foothold in Hedong in the future. He was recommended by Pei Qian at the time and owed Pei Qian a favor.

Jia Kui pondered for a moment. "The general knows that Hedong was originally the capital of the three emperors Yao, Shun and Yu, and it was also the capital of the three generations. It belonged to Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period and Wei during the Warring States Period. It was called the Three Rivers together with Henan and Henoi. Why is the number of aristocratic clans not as good as Henan, and the strength is not as strong as Henan, and Henoi?"

Zhang Fei was a little overwhelmed. He admired scholars, but he was most afraid of talking to scholars. If they didn’t say anything directly, they often didn’t know what they were saying. He asked Jia Kui about Pei Qian, but Jia Kui talked about the history of Hedong. Is this the best?

Seeing Zhang Fei frowned, Jia Kui was helpless and had difficulty talking to these martial artists. He had to pretend not to see it, and then said: "Hedong is a place where military strategists must fight for. Whether the court set the capital of Guanzhong or Luoyang, Hedong is the gateway to the capital, and there are salt and iron. Naturally, the court did not want aristocratic families to be rampant and would not lose their tails. Therefore, he has been suppressing Hedong. The same is true in Henan and Henei, but Hedong is more obvious. In the past hundred years, Hedong has not even been seen for three dukes. Therefore, Yang Xiu lived in Chang'an for several years and did not even have sex with Pei Wen and Wei Boru, and he was very clear about his intention to despise me Hedong."

After Jia Kui finished speaking, he closed his mouth. He said so clearly that if Zhang Fei didn't understand, he would have no choice.

Zhang Fei did not understand very well, but Jia Kui didn't say it, and he didn't want to ask, so he had to remain silent and think about it himself. After a while, he felt a little aware. Pei Qian and others were not doing the King of Zhongshan, but for themselves. If Liu Bei could gain a foothold in Hedong and even turn defeat into victory in the future, as a minister of the dragon, the Hedong people would of course occupy an important position in the Xin Dynasty. But if Liu Bei gave up Hedong and retreated to Bingzhou, his success or failure would have nothing to do with the Hedong people. Therefore, regardless of whether Liu Bei left or not, Pei Qian and others would definitely not leave, even if it delayed Liu Bei's chance to escape and put Liu Bei in a dangerous place.

Zhang Fei figured this out, but it was difficult to verify it with Jia Kui. He repeatedly weighed the pros and cons, asked Jia Kui to draw up a combat plan for him, send it to the central army in his name, and asked Liu Bei to make a decision. Jia Kui understood it and felt a little more favorable to Zhang Fei. Unexpectedly, Zhang Fei seemed rude, but was so responsible.

Jia Kui carefully drafted a combat plan and handed it to Zhang Fei. After Zhang Fei finished reading it, he was very moved. He signed his name, used a seal, and sent someone to send it out. He also said to Jia Kui, if you want to live well, you will become a famous general in the future and have a great place to use it.

After receiving Zhang Fei's combat plan, Liu Bei was very puzzled. He didn't know why Zhang Fei wanted to change the established plan and wanted to take Yong'an first. Yong'an also needs to be north of Baibo Valley. If you don't take Baibo Valley first, you will take the detour to get Yong'an?

After reading the plan, Sima Yi thought for a while and understood the truth. He told Liu Bei that this must be Jia Kui's suggestion. Jia Kui was from Xiangling and was an official in Jiangyi for several years and was familiar with the terrain. The suggestions he put forward naturally had their own reasons. They should be implemented accordingly, first taking Yong'an and then Baibogu. Otherwise, once Lu Meng retreated to the Yong'an area, it would be difficult to go back to him.

Sima Yi's suggestion was strongly opposed by Wei Ji. Wei Ji said that there is indeed a road outside Baibo Valley to reach Yong'an, but it is a path and is not suitable for large army to advance. Once discovered by Lu Meng, there is still a possibility of a downfall. Even if Yong'an is controlled as planned, if you cannot conquer Baibo Valley, only a few people can retreat from the path, and the army will be intercepted by Lu Meng.

Don’t forget, not only most of the elite troops of the Zhongshan Army are here, but also the elite troops of the Bingzhou Army are here. If these troops cannot be brought back to Bingzhou, what can the king even retreat to Bingzhou?

Liu Bei heard Wei Ji's implicit meaning and hesitated. He asked the National Guard Wang Gai for advice. Wang Gai was reluctant to leave the army, but was worried that he would miss the opportunity and could not retreat to Bingzhou. He agreed to Zhang Fei's plan and suggested that only a small number of troops be sent to rob Yong'an, and the main force would still be besieging Baibogu.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Wei Ji sent someone to send a letter to Pei Qian.
Chapter completed!