Ji Han Liu Zhang

Since Liu Zhang conquered Liangzhou in the third year of Jian'an and the war in Guanxi was largely eliminated, several years of peace gave the Qin area, which had been plagued by wars for years, a chance to breathe. The people were able to live and raise their children, and the Qin area gradually regained its vitality.

Now is the time of spring ploughing, grains of millet are being sown on the previously uncultivated and barren land of the Guanzhong Plain. Fields of hope are everywhere, waiting only for the blessings of the sun, moon, wind and rain to bestow a good harvest upon the people of Guanzhong.

Liu Zhang returned to Chang'an after inspecting Youfufeng. Along the way, he witnessed the farmers working hard and a look of relief emerged on his face. The peaceful and tranquil scene in Guanzhong at the moment made his hard work worthwhile.

When Liu Zhang arrived in Chang'an City, Chang'an Magistrate Zhang did not go out to greet him with a big fanfare. He knew that Liu Zhang had always disliked red tape and advocated simplicity and plainness, so he only led a few clerks to greet him.

"Your Majesty, you have worked hard on this journey." After seeing Liu Zhang, Zhang Ji ran up to him and praised him verbally.

Liu Zhang shook his head and pretended to be serious: "De Rong, when did you learn to flatter and fawn on others?"

When Zhang Ji heard this, he first showed a look of surprise, and his tone was a little at a loss: "Why do you say that, Your Majesty? This time Your Majesty inspected Youfufeng, braving the wind and rain, and went there in person. Such diligence must have been hard work..."

"What you said is the truth. Not a single word of falsehood." When he said this, Zhang Ji's expression showed a little sincerity.

It was just the teasing look between Zhang Ji's eyebrows that revealed his previous attitude, and Liu Zhang saw Zhang Ji's superb acting skills: "De Rong, I didn't know you had such a skill in appearance."

After chatting and laughing with Zhang Ji for a while, Liu Zhang headed towards the Qin Palace in Chang'an.

It is called the Palace of the Prince of Qin, but in fact it is just the old Palace of the Grand Marshal with the plaque on the door changed, with the three characters of the Grand Marshal replaced with the two characters of the Prince of Qin.

Here Liu Zhang did not discard the old plaque. He simply turned over the plaque that was originally engraved with "Grand Sima" and engraved the words "King of Qin" on it, thus saving the effort of making a new plaque.

After entering the palace, Liu Zhang had no time to rest. He summoned a group of advisers to discuss the important events that had happened recently in the world.

Zheng Du, an official at the helm, was the first to speak out: "Although Cao Mengde won a small victory over Yuan Benchu ​​at Guandu, we are worried that our troops in Guanzhong are only a few hundred miles away from Xudu. Cao Mengde has indeed sent envoys to ask Yuan Benchu ​​for peace in order to join forces to fight against our troops in Guanzhong."

"It's just that." Zheng Du smiled and said, "As Xun Zhubu expected, Yuan Benchu ​​was ashamed of the defeat at Guandu. First, he refused to meet Cao Mengde's envoy, and second, he did not ask for peace. He only ordered Ju Su to convey his intention that if he wanted peace between the north and the south, Cao Mengde had to tie up Xu You and send him to Yecheng."

"Of course this is impossible." Zheng Du said with certainty: "If Xu You hadn't betrayed his master and offered advice, Cao Mengde's life or death would still be unknown. Xu You can be said to be Cao Mengde's benefactor, and according to the news from Xudu, Cao Mengde was indeed not ungrateful. There is no news about the reconciliation between Yuan and Cao."

"Yes." Liu Zhang nodded. Yuan Shao would not respond to Cao Cao's request for peace. This matter had been decided when a group of advisers discussed it before. He was mentally prepared by knowing what would happen in the future, so there was nothing surprising.

"Although Yuan and Cao are at odds, it is unlikely that they will fight like they did last year. It is said that every failure makes one wiser." Jiang Jiong talked about the war between Yuan and Cao last year, in which Liu Zhang benefited. Zheng Du sighed and said, "What Mr. Jiang said is true. Yuan and Cao are not mediocre people. They have some talent. It is indeed unlikely that Yuan and Cao will fight. What happened last year can only happen once, not twice."

"Ah." At the end, Zheng Du looked a little bored. Why was the Qin State able to destroy the six states in the past? To put it bluntly, it was because the six states could not unite to resist Qin, but instead attacked each other, giving the Qin State the opportunity to reap the benefits, and not just once, but many times.

But now there are only Yuan and Cao in Guandong, and there is no chaos of the Six Kingdoms. Therefore, as long as Yuan and Cao do not attack each other and maintain superficial peace, it will not be easy for Guanzhong to take down Yuan and Cao and annex Guandong for a while.

Liu Zhang probably knew Zheng Du's hopes, but he did not intend to take advantage of him to the death. Whether Yuan and Cao were in harmony or fighting each other, for him, it was only a matter of time before he took over Guandong. He wanted to create a new world, so hardships were nothing.

Except for Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Sun Ce of Jiangdong, the north is now in a three-way confrontation. In this situation, it often forms a situation of two weak states against one strong state, just like the alliance between Wu and Shu in history against the powerful Cao Wei.

At this time, the strategist should come into play to divide and disintegrate the enemy's alliance, make friends with distant forces and attack nearby ones, and form alliances.

Xun You said: "Cao Mengde lives in the Central Plains, which is a place of four enemies. He needs to face enemies from all sides. Now Cao Mengde has been safe for a while, but it is because the emperor is in Xu. The emperor controls the princes. Because of the emperor, the princes dare not invade rashly, for fear of being accused of treason."

"But since the Yidaizhao, although Cao Mengde has been the prime minister, ranking above the three ministers, his reputation as a righteous man is no longer inviolable. The heroes from all over the world are all eyeing the Central Plains, either coveting the land of the Central Plains or trying to emulate Cao Mengde to hold the emperor hostage and command the princes."

"Just like Sun Ce of Jiangdong, Sun Ce is brave and similar to Xiang Yu. He lives in Wu, but he has the intention of competing for hegemony. He does not just want to annex Jingchu and unify the Yangtze River. Sun Ce has also been eyeing Qingxu for a long time."

"The Wu army's invasion of Guangling is a clear example. However, at that time, Guangling's governor Chen Deng was a man of both civil and military talents, and he was very wise and strategic. He repelled the Wu army's invasion with only a few soldiers and armor from a county. However, Chen Deng died young, and there was no general to guard Huainan. Sun Ce must have coveted it."

At this point, Xun You made a plan for Liu Zhang: "Your Majesty, you can send an envoy to Jiangdong to invite Sun Ce to invade Qingxu. This will prevent Cao's army from looking west, and our army can take this opportunity to conquer Hebei and plot against Yuan."

"In today's world, Hebei has the most people and the most weapons. If Hebei is taken, the world will be in your hands."

"Even if Cao Mengde has some military strategies and good generals and elite soldiers under his command, our army will go south from Hebei, east from Tongguan, and north from Wuguan. With a three-sided attack, even if Cao Mengde has extraordinary talents, he will not be able to turn the tide."

First Hebei, then Central Plains, Xun You gave his opinions and views. At the same time, in order to prevent Cao Cao from interfering in Liu Zhang's war in Hebei, he used the method of making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones, contacting the princes from all directions to invade Central Plains, preventing Cao Cao from being distracted and having the opportunity to interfere.

Among them, the selection of the envoy to Wu is of great importance, and must be a master of diplomacy. (End of this chapter)