Ji Han Liu Zhang

When Liu Zhang met Wang Ping who was going to the conference room, he also happened to be going to the conference room, so he called Wang Ping to go with him. Wang Ping obeyed his orders and followed Liu Zhang respectfully.

Seeing Wang Ping's young face with an embarrassed expression on his face, Liu Zhang inexplicably thought of a person - Ma Su, and also thought of a sad place of Shu Han - Jieting.

It is said that Zhuge Liang was not good at using strange tactics, but during his first Northern Expedition, he kept the secret extremely strict. His first move caused a shock in Longyou. Three of the five counties in Longyou surrendered to Zhuge Liang, and only Guangwei County and Longxi County did not surrender.

Zhuge Liang made a feint with his left and right hands, and ordered Zhao Yun to lead a decoy army out of Baoxiade, occupy Jigu, and pretend to attack the Guanzhong area of ​​Wei State, thus attracting General Cao Zhen to Mei County, creating a good situation for the main force of Shu Han to capture Longyou.

At this time, the situation of Shu Han's first Northern Expedition was very good. All they needed to do was to nail Ma Su down at Jieting and use the geographical advantage to block Zhang He's troops who were coming to rescue Longyou. Within a few months, Longyou would belong to Shu Han.

Unfortunately, man disposes, God disposes. Ma Su insisted on showing off his skills and forced himself to cosplay as Han Xin in a desperate battle. He did not set up camp on the road, but instead camped on a lonely mountain. As a result, he was cut off from water by the experienced Zhang He and was defeated.

Liu Zhang glanced sideways at Wang Ping, who had an honest face. If Ma Su could listen to Wang Ping's advice and set up camp at a dangerous place on the road, even if Ma Su's soldiers were fewer than Zhang He's, they could hold on to the camp and most likely delay until Zhuge Liang took over Longyou and came to rescue. By then, if Shu Han had taken over the Longyou highlands, it would be a promising future.

After all, Ma Su was a military officer and had extraordinary talent in planning strategies, but he did not have the experience and ability to act independently.

Otherwise, even if Ma Su did nothing and handed the army over to Wang Ping for command, letting Wang Ping go to resist the Wei army while he slept in the central army tent, he could easily accomplish a great feat.

As the saying goes, if you join the army and stay at home, your achievements will come from heaven.

Then, as a rising star in Jingzhou, Ma Su could naturally become Zhuge Liang's successor and the candidate for the next prime minister of Shu Han. He could also say from time to time: "I commanded the Battle of Jieting" and pretend to be a famous general.

Unfortunately, Ma Su's showmanship failed, and not only did he become a clown, but he also ruined the good situation of Shu Han's first Northern Expedition and indirectly ruined the future of Shu Han.

"It is easy to know others, but difficult to know oneself." Liu Zhang repeated a common saying in his heart. It is easy to understand others, but difficult to understand oneself, especially for talented people, who are prone to be arrogant and unable to see their true worth, leading to irreparable mistakes.

While thinking, Liu Zhang came to the door of the conference room. He stepped in, while Wang Ping stood at the door of the conference room with a sword in hand, acting as a guardian.

In the meeting room, counselors such as Wang Shang, Xun You, and Zheng Du had already taken their seats. When they saw Liu Zhang, they stood up one by one and saluted Liu Zhang, saying, "Your Majesty."

As Liu Zhang walked towards the main seat, he stretched out his hand and gently patted it downwards, indicating that everyone did not need to be polite, but just take a seat, avoiding the formalities.

"My lord, Zhang Lu of Shangyong has presented local products and a letter of congratulations." Prime Minister Wang Shangtong reported the news and at the same time passed a document to Liu Zhang's desk through the clerk Cheng Yu.

"A letter of congratulations!" Liu Zhang smiled when he heard it. He took the so-called letter of congratulations from Cheng Yu and began to read it. Just as Wang Shang said, this document was indeed a letter of congratulations.

Zhang Lu, who was driven out by Liu Zhang and fled from Hanzhong to Shangyong, actually put aside his past hatred and began to wag his tail towards Liu Zhang when Liu Zhang's power became stronger and his territory expanded. In his congratulatory letter, Zhang Lu praised Liu Zhang's achievements and wished him a long life. His words were humble and modest, and he put himself very low and praised Liu Zhang very highly.

Although Liu Zhang didn't know whether Zhang Lu was sincere or not, Zhang Lu's sincerity or falsehood didn't matter to him. After all, the situation was stronger than the person. Sitting on the land of the powerful Qin, he could kill Zhang Lu with just one finger.

The reason why Liu Zhang kept Zhang Lu in Shangyong to act arrogantly was simply to appease Liu Biao in Jingzhou. The three eastern counties were too close to Xiangyang. If the three eastern counties were in Liu Zhang's hands, Liu Biao would be unable to sit still and sleep.

The originally allied Jing and Yi families might end up on the road of confrontation due to the pressure of geopolitical interests, and Jingzhou and Jiangdong were at the back of Liu Zhang's plan.

The north, the Central Plains and Hebei are the battlefields for deciding who will be the hegemon of the world today. Without the large-scale development of the Jingyang area by waves of immigrants migrating south during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it is in a state of chicken ribs, with no meat to eat and a pity to throw away.

"Xun Qing, you can write a reply letter to appease Zhang Lu with kind words." Liu Zhang put down the congratulatory letter in his hand and gave instructions to Xun You. He planned to keep Zhang Lu in Shangyong.

Wang Shang continued to report, "Shi Xie, the governor of Jiaozhou, has sent envoys to offer thousands of spices and fine-grained ramie cloth, as well as pearls, large shells, colored glaze, jade, tortoise shells, rhinoceros horns, ivory and other treasures as year-end gifts... Now the envoys have arrived in Hanzhong and will soon reach Chang'an via the Ziwu Plank Road."

"In addition, the kings of the Western Regions, such as Shanshan, Qiuci, and Khotan, have sent envoys to offer tributes and hand over their books and records. The envoys have already reached Shanggui and are heading straight for Chang'an."

After all, it was the end of the year, and there were countless people giving gifts. Liu Zhang smiled and nodded, indicating that he knew the news reported by Wang Shangtong and had an idea in his mind.

People like Shi Xie, Zhang Lu, and the kings of the Western Regions were all outstanding men. When Liu Zhang was in control of Qin and extremely powerful, they took actions that were sensible to the current situation. They sent envoys to offer tributes or handed over books and records to show their submission and submission.

There are so many talented people in the world.

"Besides, the Emperor of Xudu has sent an envoy to wish Your Majesty a happy new year." Xun You said, "The envoy has entered Tongguan now. The person is Liu Ai, the Minister of the Court."

"Yeah." Liu Zhang nodded. He was not without surprise. As the King of Qin of the Han Dynasty and a powerful vassal of the royal family outside, Emperor Liu Xie, who had some autonomy, would surely win over and appease him.

Especially when there were powerful ministers in the country, all Liu Xie could rely on were clan ministers like Liu Zhang and Liu Biao. As long as Liu Zhang and Liu Biao were in power for one day, the treacherous Cao Cao would have to restrain himself and dare not be too presumptuous to Liu Xie.

Between Liu Zhang and Liu Biao, Liu Zhang was more important. After all, Liu Biao was old and had no long-term ambitions, and his role in supporting the Han Dynasty was far less important than that of Liu Zhang.

Liu Zhang controlled Qinchuan and was very powerful, which made Cao Cao afraid of him. He was the support of Emperor Liu Xie. (End of this chapter)