Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

At the beginning of the fifth year of Zhangwu, after half a year, Zhuge Liang completely pacified Nanzhong.

In the seven counties of Nanzhong, Yi kings from all over the country expressed their submission.

Zhuge Liang stayed in Nanzhong for another period of time, promulgating the laws between Yi and Han, following the example of Shen Chen in Liangzhou, treating Han and Yi equally, and reciprocating mutual benefits with Yi people.

However, unlike Liangzhou, Shen Chen's side was governed by the Yi and Han, while Zhuge Liang adopted the internal autonomy of the Yi people.

The reason is that different places have different policies.

Although Liangzhou is mountainous, there are also many plain areas. The Qiang and Hu all live on the prairie, and there are still few tribes living in the deep mountains and old forests, so it is easier to directly rule.

On the other hand, there are many tribes living in the deep mountains and old forests of the southern Zhongyi people, and the terrain is remote. They are not as close to Guanzhong as Liangzhou is, and they are too far away from the Central Plains geopolitically, so it is not easy to directly govern them.

Therefore, when the Han Dynasty was unable to vigorously develop Nanzhong, it could only choose to let the barbarians manage themselves internally. The Han Dynasty only needed the control of the big cities in Nanzhong and the product resources.

In the fifth year of Zhangwu, Zhuge Liang returned to the imperial court, leaving Li Hui as the governor of Jianning County and Xinggu County, Zhang Ni as the prefect of Yueyu, and Li Guang (the grandfather of Li Mi, the author of Chen Qingbiao) as Zhuge Liang. Ti Taishou, Ma Zhong was the governor of Cang, Wang Fu was the governor of Yongchang, and Lu Kai was the governor of Yunnan, guarding Nanzhong.

At this time, it was already 225 AD. At the beginning, Shen Chen proposed to rest for three years, and then it was implemented at the end of the first year of Zhang Wu and the beginning of the second year of Zhang Wu.In this way, at the beginning of the sixth year of Zhangwu, the Jihan court in the south will officially start the road to the Northern Expedition.

In fact, when Zhuge Liang returned to Xiangyang, he had already noticed something strange.

Xiangyang City is still as lively as it used to be. The wharf in the north of the city is crowded with people, and the cargo ships coming and going carry goods from the warehouse to the ship, and then carry out trade activities from south to north.

But Zhuge Liang found that although the docks are still prosperous today, most of the dock workers are carrying sacks woven from linen.

In the Han Dynasty, even linen was very precious, and it was the source of clothing for the people at the bottom.

There is only one case where sacks are used.

That's when the government used to hoard food and supplies.

Therefore, what these people are carrying is the spare food that the government is currently hoarding in Xiangyang. Looking at the fleet's trip, it is indeed heading north in the direction of Feishui.

Zhuge Liang summoned the officials in charge of the wharf to know that the imperial court was indeed transporting supplies to Wancheng through the Feishui River, and some soldiers and horses who had stayed in the south were gradually moving north.

Once the war starts, Nanyang's troops will definitely invade Henan on a large scale. At that time, Nanyang, Xiangyang and other places will be empty of troops, so it is normal to transfer the troops from the south to the north.

"It seems that His Majesty is already a little impatient."

When Zhuge Liang went to the palace to meet Liu Bei, he said to Ma Liang in the carriage.

Ma Liang said: "Your Majesty wanted the Northern Expedition not long after the founding of the country three years ago, but General Hussars persuaded him not to send troops immediately. After three years of cultivation, the country is rich and the people are rich, so naturally they want to send troops."

"Ah."

Zhuge Liangliang nodded, and said in a deep voice: "Han and traitors are not at odds, and Wang Ye is not partial to peace. Your Majesty deeply thinks that staying in the south for a long time will be bad for Wang Ye, and he is already very old. It is indeed time for the Northern Expedition."

Zhuge Liang agreed with this matter. He opposed it at first because he had just finished the Battle of Jingzhou and the Battle of Guanzhong, and it was relatively reluctant to send troops to eliminate Jiangdong.

At the level of Cao Wei and Ji Han, Southern and Northern Dynasties, wars no longer depend on one or two large-scale victories to end.

Instead, it depends on the competition of national strength and strategic competition between the two sides.

With internal instability and people's livelihood declining, rashly sending troops to the north will only intensify the internal consumption between the two great powers Cao Wei and Ji Han.

Although Cao Wei had just lost the Battle of Guanzhong and the Battle of Jingzhou, it was also unstable.

But their heritage is stronger than that of Ji Han, and Liu Bei's group cannot get the support of the gentry, and Cao Wei can get the support of the northern gentry. Compared with the two, they sent troops to the Northern Expedition at that time, and the possibility of losing was extremely high.

So Zhuge Liang had the same opinion as Shen Chen at that time, the Northern Expedition was definitely going to happen, but it should not be rushed for a while, but should rest and recuperate, recover its vitality, and then send troops to the Central Plains.

The carriage drove slowly along the streets and alleys to the palace.

Now Xiangyang's population has exceeded 40, and the city has also been expanded. The permanent population in the city has reached [-]. It was already a big city at that time.

The streets and alleys are very lively and prosperous, all kinds of vendors and handicraft manufacturers gather, and the whole street is filled with shops of all sizes.

People from south to north gather in this city. There are merchants who sell goods, and some people who go south want to make a living. There are also local people who often gather in teahouses and restaurants and live like a market.

Recently, the people in Xiangyang have been hotly discussing that Zhuge Liang, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, personally settled in Nanzhong, captured Meng Huo seven times and defeated the king of Yi in the seven counties of Nanzhong.

"Then Meng Huo said he was two feet tall, with a face like a green bull, horns growing on his head, and a big fork in his hand. He looked very vicious."

"What are you talking about? How did I hear that he was emaciated?"

"Nonsense, if he is so thin and weak, how can the people of Southern Zhongyi subdue him? Can the prime minister be so difficult to catch?"

"Difficult to catch and caught seven times?"

"That's the supernatural power of the prime minister. Before, you all said that the prime minister is the power of Marquis Feng. Looking at it now, it's only right that he also has the reincarnation of Marquis Liu. Capturing Meng Huo seven times is powerful in Nanzhong!"

"Yes, yes, and I heard that the prime minister knows magic, and with a feather fan in his hand, he can have the power of water and fire. Meng Huo called Long Youna, the Yi king of Yunnan, to fight our Han army with a beast several feet high, but the prime minister waved his hands The beasts will scatter like birds and beasts."

"Not only that, but also."

The carriage drove past a teahouse, and outside the door, tea drinkers on the street looked at the mansion newspaper in their hands and talked a lot.

By the time the carriage passed by, Zhuge Liang had been reincarnated from Liuhou, turned into a magic power, and then turned into a fairy descending to the earth, which made people have to admire the imagination and creativity of the people in the market.

Zhuge Liang looked helpless in the car.

Ma Liang said with a smile: "When Xiaoqing attacked Cao Cao in the north, he won all three battles. The rumors became more and more bizarre every day. It is said that he killed hundreds of thousands of Cao's troops, and he killed them for days and nights without blinking. The name of God is also manifested from this.”

Zhuge Liang smiled and said nothing.

Soon the carriage drove slowly towards the palace, and at the gate of the palace, Liu Bei and all the civil and military officials were already waiting outside.

It's a great honor.

Seeing this situation, Zhuge Liang hurriedly got out of the carriage ahead of time, walked all the way to the gate of the palace, cupped his hands to Liu Bei and said, "Thank you for your majesty's coming out to welcome me, I am extremely ashamed."

Liu Bei is 65 years old this year. He has been dead for two years at this time in history, but he is still alive and in good spirits.

At this time, his hair was gray, his temples were like frost, and his face was a little thin. When he saw Zhuge Liang approaching, he smiled brightly, and he was in good spirits. , I will personally welcome you."

"I am ashamed."

Zhuge Liang bowed his hands again.

Meng Huo, who was brought along with him, stepped forward and bowed his hands, saying: "Meng Huo, a barbarian from the South, doesn't know the might of the Han army, and if he offends the superior, please be punished by Your Majesty!"

Liu Bei had already received Zhuge Liang's battle report and knew that Meng Huo had a high prestige in Nanzhong. Taking him back to the court this time was to use his prestige to stabilize the situation in Nanzhong, and also to send a signal to Nanzhong.

It doesn't matter whether you are a barbarian or a Han, as long as you submit to the imperial court and obey the imperial court's call, then you can all enjoy the corresponding rights and interests, and you can be an official in the imperial court, and the big Han will treat you equally.

So Liu Bei knew that this was the effect of buying a horse bone with thousands of dollars. He went up to hold Meng Huo's hand with a smile, and said, "If the leader knows his mistakes, he will correct them. There is nothing good about it. Now submitting to the imperial court and appeasing Nanzhong for the imperial court is the greatest thing." Thanks to your contribution, I have named you Doctor Guanglu and Captain Qi, and will comfort Nanzhong forever for me."

Doctor Guanglu is now a loose official, and Captain Qi is an honored official, unlike in history when Zhuge Liang took Meng Huo back and named him Yushi Zhongcheng.

It's good that Meng Huo survived, so he naturally didn't have such high expectations, so he said with great joy, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Prime Minister!"

After meeting Meng Huo, a fat man of eighteen or nineteen years old next to Liu Bei saluted Zhuge Liang.

"Prince."

Zhuge Liang returned the gift.

The little fat man is Liu Bei's son Liu Chan.

"go in."

Liu Bei greeted them into the palace.

The imperial palace in Xiangyang was repaired during Liu Biao's period, and the specification system is actually not as large as the Luoyang and Chang'an imperial palaces.

There is only one palace in the entire palace, and that is the Deyang Palace in the center. The rest of the houses are like ordinary pavilions of southern wealthy families, which belong to the unique small buildings in the south of the Yangtze River.

Inside is full of greenery and dense bamboo shadows. There are cloisters, bucket arches, gardens, and tile houses. After passing through the vestibule and vestibule, you can see a large palace in the atrium.

After Liu Bei came to power, because of his diligence and love for the people, he was unwilling to spend more on palace repairs, so the overall scale of the palace remained the same as it was during Liu Biao's period, and did not expand on a large scale.

However, the problem of the old Liu family is still there. Liu Bei personally welcomed Zhuge Liang and held a celebration ceremony for him. Everyone in the hall sat down one after another and served all kinds of delicacies, followed by a song and dance banquet.

Obviously Liu Bei knew that Zhuge Liang was from Shandong, so he specially prepared these for him.

Everyone at the banquet was in high spirits, celebrating the pacification of Nanzhong.

After the banquet was over, Liu Bei summoned Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, Wu Yi, Ma Chao, Jia Xu, Fazheng, Xu Shu and other confidants, both civil and military, to discuss matters in the back hall.

In the back hall, Liu Beigao sat in the main seat, and Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei sat on the left and right sides. After everyone was seated, Liu Bei said, "Prime Minister, I have decided to make a formal northern expedition at the end of this year. What do you think?"

Zhuge Liang thought for a while and said: "It will be faster than Xiaoqing's plan for the beginning of next year, but it should be okay. Now that the country has enough food and grass, people's livelihood is prosperous, and the Northern Expedition is at the right time. I thought that the three-way attack on Wei, Guanzhong by Xiaoqing, and Nanyang by Xiaoqing." General Cheqi, General Wei, Shangshuling, Zhongshucheng, and Menxiaqing. Huainan is under the command of a general, and we will definitely be able to defeat Wei."

"I want to conquer myself!"

Liu Bei shook his head and said firmly.

"His Majesty."

Zhuge Liang hurriedly persuaded: "The safety of the country depends on His Majesty. After all, the Northern Expedition is too tiring. I hope that Your Majesty will put the king's business first, and don't put yourself in danger."

Liu Bei looked at him and sighed, "I don't hesitate to die. What I fear most is that before I die, I won't be able to see the big men return to unity."

Zhang Fei yelled: "Your Majesty, it's fine for me to go with my second brother. You can wait for the good news in Xiangyang."

"Wide."

Liu Bei glared at him: "You and Yun Chang are my brothers and sisters, how can you go to the battlefield without me?"

Xu Shu said: "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is worried that if His Majesty is overworked, he may fall ill. Now the situation in the south has just stabilized and we need to rely on His Majesty's prestige. The Prime Minister is also doing it for His Majesty's benefit."

"Of course I know."

Liu Bei nodded, looked outside the door with deep eyes and said: "However, I don't know how long I can live. If I can't raise my troops to defeat Wei, rule the world, and restore the Han Dynasty, I will die with no regrets, and I will have no face to go to the underworld. See Gaozu Shizu."

Zhuge Liang persuaded again: "Your Majesty's Northern Expedition, you don't need to come in person, or you can go to Wancheng to supervise the battle."

"Yes, Wancheng is close to the front line, and His Majesty is supervising the battle at the rear. When the soldiers know that His Majesty is there, they must fight to the death, defeat Cao Wei, and regain the south of the river in one fell swoop!"

Fazheng also advised.

Liu Bei hesitated a little, but he still said firmly after a while: "You don't need to persuade me any more. I will go to the north myself, and I will rely on the prime minister. Nanyang is preparing troops for the next year's attack on Wei. I can't wait any longer. I feel my destiny." When the time comes, if we don't attack Wei again, we will be in danger."

"His Majesty."

Zhuge Liang let out a long sigh, and said earnestly, "I respect your majesty's edict!"

"Honorable Edict!"

Seeing that Zhuge Liang no longer objected, Fazheng, Xu Shu, Pang Tong and others stopped persuading and agreed one after another.

In the second half of Zhang Wu's fifth year, Jihan Group spent this busy time.

At the beginning, the common people didn't realize it, but until the carts of military food and supplies, and the boats of equipment and armor, sailed along the Nanyang wilderness and the Feishui River into Wancheng, everyone knew that maybe a new wartime was coming again.

Jihan Group has three large grain storage bases. One is in Xiangyang. Xiangyang is connected to Nanyang in the north and the Yangtze River in the south. The waterways are extremely developed. Therefore, more than half of Jingzhou's taxed grain and grass are stored here. Once there is a problem in Jingzhou and all over the country, the grain can be quickly recovered. Arrived by water, thus quelling the troubles.

The second one is in Jianye. Jianye is the front line of Jiangdong, connecting the Yangtze River in the west, entering Xuzhou in the north, and going north from Ruxukou to Hefei City.Therefore, the taxes and taxes of the Yangzhou rear base are also stored in Jianye. If Guan Yu makes a northern expedition, he can attack both land and water to attack the Huainan land occupied by Cao Wei.

The third is naturally in Bashu, one in Chengdu in Shu, and one in Jiangzhou in Badi.Chengdu Jinniu Road connects Hanzhong, and Bazhou has Micang Road connecting Hanzhong.Therefore, the grain and grass are concentrated in this place, and grain and grass can be continuously transported to Hanzhong.

Over the years, Liu Bei has accumulated a lot of grain and built high walls in Xiangyang. At the same time, he has paid attention to craftsmen, raised the status of craftsmen and handicraftsmen, offered huge rewards, and built advanced siege equipment. He has accumulated a lot.

By the end of the fifth year of Zhangwu, more than 1000 million stones of grain had been accumulated on the front line of Nanyang, and there were countless weapons, armors, crossbows, and equipment.

And at the beginning of December at the end of the year, a letter from Feige fell into Shen Chen's hands.

"The Northern Expedition has begun."

In Jixian County, Liangzhou, Shen Chen, who had come back from Hanzhong to sit in Liangzhou, looked down at the many generals.

In the middle of this year, Liu Bei had already told him that he wanted to send troops by the end of the year.

So Shen Chen also actively prepared and began to make arrangements in advance.

Now Liangzhou has about [-] soldiers and horses, and the previous total force was less than [-]. However, after three years of Shen Chen's governance, the Qiang Han gradually stabilized.

Shen Chen began to recruit new soldiers. Due to preferential policies, the Qiang people actively joined the army, and the Qiang soldiers expanded by 10, plus more than [-] Han soldiers, a total of [-] horses.

The number of cavalry reached [-], including [-] heavy cavalry, about [-] light cavalry, and Shen Chen's [-] elite guard cavalry, all equipped with stirrups, saddles, and horseshoes.

Therefore, at this time, Hanzhong and other places in Liangzhou have strong soldiers and horses, and they are about to step into the pass!
"Everyone."

After reading the letter, Shen Chen said to Deng Zhi, Pang Yu, Ma Dai, Li Yue and other civil and military generals: "The king's industry is not partial, and the Han and the thieves are not at odds. Your Majesty's Northern Expedition and unification of the world is today. Send an order to General Huang. In a few days, troops will leave Chencang!"

"only!"

Everyone roared in unison, and the Northern Expedition officially kicked off.