Honglou: This bastard is too persuasive.

Chapter 722 Gains and Losses

While Liu Bei was stepping up his efforts to capture Yizhou, he had already occupied half of the territory, but faced with the stubborn resistance of Liu Zhang in Chengdu and other places, his progress gradually slowed down. At this time, Liu Bei heard that Meng Huo had great power in the Nanzhong area, and Jiaozhou Mu also had a certain number of troops. If the two could unite, they might be able to capture Yizhou in one fell swoop. So Liu Bei sent eloquent men to Nanzhong and Jiaozhou respectively to persuade Meng Huo and Jiaozhou Mu to send troops together.

The envoy first went to Nanzhong and met Meng Huo. Meng Huo was a burly man with a fierce face. After listening to the envoy's explanation of his purpose, he thought to himself. Seeing this, the envoy hurriedly said: "General Meng Huo, Liu Bei is a relative of the Han Dynasty and is famous for his benevolence. This time he is marching into Yizhou with the intention of restoring the Han Dynasty and benefiting the people. If you can join forces with Liu Bei, you will definitely not be treated unfairly after the matter is accomplished. Nanzhong can also exchange what it has with Yizhou and share peace." Meng Huo thought about it and felt that cooperating with Liu Bei might bring him more benefits, so he nodded and agreed.

The envoy rushed to Jiaozhou without stopping. After meeting the governor of Jiaozhou, he said earnestly: "Sir, the world is in chaos now. Liu Zhang of Yizhou is weak, and uncle Liu Bei wants to take Yizhou to achieve great things. If you can help, you can get many benefits after taking Yizhou, and in the future in this chaotic world, you and uncle Liu can support each other and maintain peace together." The governor of Jiaozhou weighed the pros and cons and finally decided to unite with Liu Bei.

When Liu Bei learned that both sides were willing to join forces, he was overjoyed and immediately discussed the details of the military campaign with Meng Huo and Jiaozhou Mu. Meng Huo led 20,000 Nanzhong barbarian soldiers, and Jiaozhou Mu sent 10,000 elite soldiers to join Liu Bei's army. The three forces joined forces and launched a fierce attack on the unoccupied areas of Yizhou again.

In Liu Bei's army, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and other brave generals still led the troops and fought bravely. Meng Huo's barbarians were good at mountain warfare and agile, and played an important role in some dangerous terrain. Although the Jiaozhou soldiers were small in number, they were well-trained and well-equipped, and performed well in siege warfare.

The first place the three-party coalition attacked was an important pass in Yizhou. Liu Zhang's garrison relied on the terrain of the pass to put up a tenacious resistance. Liu Bei frowned and discussed countermeasures with Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang said, "My lord, this pass is easy to defend but difficult to attack. We cannot attack it by force. We can let General Meng Huo's barbarians go around the pass from a small road and attack from the front and back; the Jiaozhou army can suppress the garrison on the city wall with powerful crossbows, and our army will feint an attack from the front. When the enemy army is in chaos, we can break through the pass in one fell swoop."

Liu Bei followed the plan. Meng Huo selected a group of barbarian soldiers who were familiar with the mountain roads and quietly went around the pass under the cover of night. The Jiaozhou army deployed a strong crossbow array under the city and fired fiercely at the top of the city. Liu Bei's army beat drums and shouted, making a strong attack. Liu Zhang's defenders were immediately panicked. They had to guard against frontal attacks and deal with the barbarian soldiers who suddenly appeared in the rear. Under the attack of the three-party coalition, the pass was quickly breached.

After that, the coalition army continued to advance and captured several cities. Liu Zhang's army was defeated and morale was low. Finally, the coalition army arrived at the city of Chengdu. Liu Zhang was in the city, looking at the dense enemy troops outside the city, and his heart was filled with despair. But he was still unwilling to surrender, and ordered the city gates to be closed and held on for help.

Liu Bei's army surrounded Chengdu, but was not in a hurry to attack the city. Zhuge Liang said to Liu Bei: "My lord, the walls of Chengdu are tall and strong. If we attack by force, our army will suffer heavy casualties. We can first cut off their food supplies, and then send people to persuade them to surrender and shake their morale." Liu Bei nodded in agreement.

At the same time, Meng Huo and Jiaozhou Mu had their own plans. Meng Huo thought that he must get enough benefits from Yizhou to make himself more prestigious in Nanzhong. Jiaozhou Mu hoped to get a piece of rich land in Yizhou to expand his sphere of influence.

A few days later, the food and grass in Chengdu were running low, and the soldiers were panicking. Liu Bei sent messengers into the city to persuade Liu Zhang to surrender. Liu Zhang hesitated, and his subordinates were divided into two factions. One faction advocated surrender to protect the people of Yizhou, while the other faction believed that they should fight to the death. Under pressure from many sides, Liu Zhang finally chose to leave the city and surrender. Liu Bei led his army into Chengdu and finally took Yizhou.

However, at the celebration banquet, although the atmosphere was harmonious, undercurrents were surging. Meng Huo spoke first: "Uncle Liu, this time we sent troops from the south to help, and suffered many casualties. Now that Yizhou has been taken, I hope you will fulfill your promise." Jiaozhou Mu also echoed: "Yes, Uncle Liu, my Jiaozhou troops have come from afar and have made a lot of efforts. Please tell me how to reward them."

Liu Bei was a little unhappy, but thinking of the help they had given him, he said, "Don't worry, I was able to take Yizhou this time thanks to your help. Yizhou is just beginning, and there is a lot to be done, but I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer."

So, after discussing with Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei decided to give Meng Huo a large amount of money and food as a reward. Meng Huo was overjoyed when he saw the piles of wealth, but he still felt it was not enough, so he said, "Uncle Liu, Nanzhong is poor. Although these wealth are a lot, the people in Nanzhong still live in poverty. I hope you can give me more help." Liu Bei had no choice but to allocate some land to Meng Huo and let him settle the people in Nanzhong.

Seeing this, the governor of Jiaozhou did not show any weakness: "Uncle Liu, my Jiaozhou is far away, and the cost of this military expedition is huge. I hope you can give me more food, fodder and money. Jiaozhou borders Yizhou, so you can share your worries in the future." Liu Bei was annoyed, but in order to maintain the alliance, he gave a lot of food and money to the governor of Jiaozhou, and promised to open some trade ports in the border area to facilitate trade between Jiaozhou and Yizhou.

As a result, although Liu Bei conquered Yizhou, a large amount of money and food were divided up by Meng Huo and Jiaozhou Mu. Yizhou's economy had already suffered after the war, and this made the situation even worse. Liu Bei looked at the little remaining reserves and felt worried.

Zhuge Liang saw what Liu Bei was thinking and said, "My lord, although we have lost a lot of money and food, we have already occupied Yizhou, which is the foundation for our great cause. The most urgent task is to recuperate, develop the economy, and comfort the people. As long as Yizhou is stable, we will be able to recover in the future."

Liu Bei agreed with this and focused on governing Yizhou. He appointed Zhuge Liang as prime minister to coordinate Yizhou affairs. Zhuge Liang implemented a series of policies to encourage farming, reduce taxes, and select talents, which gradually brought Yizhou back to life.

After Meng Huo returned to Nanzhong, he gained more power with the money and food he received from Yizhou, and became more stable in Nanzhong. Jiaozhou Mu also gained a lot of benefits, and his prestige in Jiaozhou was further enhanced. At the same time, trade with Yizhou also promoted the development of Jiaozhou's economy.

However, although the relationship between Liu Bei, Meng Huo and Jiaozhou Mu was friendly on the surface, it had already buried hidden dangers due to the issue of interest distribution. Meng Huo felt that he should have more say in Yizhou affairs, and Jiaozhou Mu also interfered in some border affairs of Yizhou. Although Liu Bei was dissatisfied, he could only temporarily endure it for the sake of the overall situation.

In the following days, although Yizhou gradually recovered under Zhuge Liang's governance, external pressure still existed. Cao Cao, Sun Quan and other forces were eyeing Yizhou, and the delicate relationship between him and Meng Huo and Jiaozhou Mu also made Liu Bei dare not take it lightly. Liu Bei knew that he still had a long way to go to gain a foothold in this chaotic world and realize the great cause of restoring the Han Dynasty. One day, Liu Bei summoned generals such as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, as well as counselors such as Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong to discuss countermeasures. Guan Yu said: "Brother, Meng Huo and Jiaozhou Mu are so greedy. If they are not curbed, they may become a big problem in the future." Zhang Fei also said loudly: "I, Zhang, have disliked them for a long time. If you give an order, I will go and clean them up!"

Liu Bei waved his hand and said, "My two brothers, now that Yizhou has just been settled, we must not start a war lightly. We need to take a long-term view, guard against external forces, and handle the relationship with Meng Huo and Jiaozhou governor. Mr. Kong Ming, what good plan do you have?"

Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment and said, "My lord, you can use both kindness and force on Meng Huo. On the one hand, continue to give him certain benefits so that he can feel your kindness; on the other hand, strengthen the military deterrence against the South Central Region so that he dare not act rashly. For Jiaozhou Mu, you can make him rely on Yizhou through trade, and at the same time strengthen the defense on the border to prevent him from having any evil intentions."

Pang Tong also said: "What the military advisor said is very true. In addition, we can take advantage of the conflict between Meng Huo and Jiaozhou Mu to make them check and balance each other. In this way, our army can focus on developing Yizhou and wait for the right time to make great plans."

After hearing this, Liu Bei nodded and said, "I will do as you two gentlemen say. Everyone, Yizhou is the foundation of our survival, and we must not ruin the big things because of momentary impulse. We need to work together to make Yizhou strong." Everyone agreed in unison.

Therefore, Liu Bei adopted different strategies towards Meng Huo and Jiaozhou Mu according to Zhuge Liang's advice, and vigorously developed Yizhou's economy and military. In terms of economy, he built water conservancy projects, reclaimed wasteland, and encouraged commercial development; in terms of military, he expanded the army, strengthened training, and improved the combat effectiveness of soldiers.

As time went by, Yizhou gradually recovered and became stronger under Liu Bei's governance. However, Meng Huo and Jiaozhou Mu's conflict deepened due to some disputes over interests. Meng Huo believed that Jiaozhou Mu had made too much profit from trade with Yizhou, while Jiaozhou Mu felt that Meng Huo often caused trouble in the border area, affecting the relationship between the two sides.

When Liu Bei learned about this, he was secretly delighted. He discussed with Zhuge Liang and decided to send someone to mediate, ostensibly to maintain the friendly relationship between the two sides, but in fact to further expand the conflict between the two, so as to gain more benefits and development space for Yizhou.

The mediating envoys came to Nanzhong and Jiaozhou to persuade Meng Huo and Jiaozhou Mu respectively. The envoy said to Meng Huo: "General Meng Huo, Jiaozhou Mu did have some inappropriate practices in this trade, but Liu Huangshu hopes that you will put the overall situation first and not hurt the relationship. Liu Huangshu has ordered Jiaozhou Mu to make concessions, and the future trade will surely satisfy you."

The messenger then said to Jiaozhou Mu: "Sir, General Meng Huo was reckless in border affairs, but he was also doing it for the people of Nanzhong. Emperor Liu hopes that you can show mercy and not bother with him. Emperor Liu will also let General Meng Huo restrain his subordinates and ensure peace on the border."

Although Meng Huo and Jiaozhou Mu were dissatisfied, they temporarily put aside their dispute for Liu Bei's sake. However, the conflict between them was not really resolved, but was only temporarily suppressed. Liu Bei used this time to continue to develop Yizhou and expand his power.

During this process, Liu Bei did not forget to pay attention to the situation in the world. Cao Cao's power in the north was growing stronger, and Sun Quan's foundation in Jiangdong was also solid. Liu Bei knew that in order to achieve the goal of restoring the Han Dynasty, he must continue to strengthen himself. On the one hand, he actively established good relations with surrounding forces, and on the other hand, he stepped up the training of talents, stored food and grass, and forged weapons to make full preparations for future wars.

After this mediation, Meng Huo and Jiaozhou Mu, although at peace on the surface, were secretly accumulating strength in case the other side suddenly attacked. The relationship between them and Liu Bei also became more complicated and subtle. In the land of Yizhou, various forces were secretly competing, waiting for a new opportunity to push the situation to a climax again.

Sun Quan returned from discussing with various princes outside Luoyang City. He knew that in this chaotic world, if he wanted to achieve great things, he must first establish a solid foundation and develop and expand his territory, Yangzhou. Yangzhou is located on the Yangtze River and has a dense network of waterways. Sun Quan keenly realized that the key strategy for the development of Yangzhou was to rely mainly on the navy and supplemented by water transportation. After returning to Jianye, Sun Quan immediately summoned all his capable ministers and generals to discuss the plan in the meeting hall.

Everyone was present, and the hall was brightly lit with candles. Sun Quan, dressed in a brocade robe and with a solemn look, spoke first: "Everyone, this trip to Luoyang has allowed me to see the strength and plans of the various princes. Yangzhou is a land of rivers and streams, which is our unique advantage. I intend to develop Yangzhou with the navy as the main force and water transportation as the auxiliary force. What do you think?"

Zhou Yu, the general of the Eastern Wu, was known for his great talent and strategy. He responded with a sharp look in his eyes, "My lord, this is a great plan. Yangzhou has a network of rivers and the navy is the sharp weapon of our army. Strengthening the navy can not only consolidate the river defense and keep the enemy out of the Yangtze River, but also expand the sphere of influence by relying on the advantages of the navy. In addition, the cost of water transportation is low. If it is developed properly, it can greatly promote the trade of Yangzhou and prosper the economy."

Lu Su, a man of integrity and foresight, nodded and agreed, "The Grand Commander is right. My Lord, the most urgent task in developing the navy is to expand the number of soldiers and select strong men to join the navy. At the same time, we must increase investment in the construction of warships and build more sturdy and advanced warships. In addition, we need to train a group of generals and soldiers who are proficient in naval warfare to improve the overall combat effectiveness of the navy."

Although Lu Meng was known for his bravery in his early years, he has been reading military books diligently in recent years and his wisdom has gradually increased. He stood up and said, "My lord, in addition to expanding the number of troops and building warships, the training of the navy cannot be neglected. We can set up multiple training bases in the Yangtze River and other waters to simulate various water battle scenes, so that the soldiers can become familiar with water battle skills and improve their actual combat capabilities. In addition, intelligence is crucial to water battles. We must establish a complete intelligence network to grasp the movements of the enemy's navy."

(End of this chapter)