Three Kingdoms: Wolong's brother-in-law, tricking Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou

Jia Xu actually wants to retire and return home?
Liu Bei and all the ministers present at the scene had strange looks on their faces.

Jia Xu played a vital role in the recovery of Chang'an.

He returned to Han with such great achievements and was appreciated and respected by Liu Bei. It can be said that he had a bright future.

At this time, Jia Xu did not want to pursue a higher position in his official rank, but instead wanted to give up his fame and wealth and retire and return home?
People don't understand.

"Jia Wenhe has never had any desires or requests in his life. He now submits to Your Majesty just to seek a good end."

"Your Majesty, please grant his wish."

Xiao Fang spoke up at the side, he was the only one who saw through Jia Xu's motives.

Although Jia Xu had made great contributions and Liu Bei had forgiven all his past sins, he still had a dark history.

Carrying such a past and being in the court, isn't it the same as parading in public and becoming the easiest target for others to target?
Besides, Old Liu is magnanimous and can tolerate Jia Xu. But what if Old Liu is no longer around in the future?

Instead of coveting power, it is better to stay away from the court, return to your hometown to read books and grow flowers, and spend the rest of your life in peace.

Jia Xu's heart was shaken, and he looked at Xiao Fang with admiration and bowed deeply:
"The one who knows Xu is Prime Minister Xiao."

"I have long heard of Prime Minister Xiao's reputation as a wise counselor. Today I see that his reputation is well-deserved. Your Majesty has a god-like Prime Minister Xiao to assist you. It is truly God's will to revive our Han Dynasty."

Xiao Fang just smiled in response to Jia Xu's admiration and praise.

Liu Bei suddenly realized and remembered Xiao Fang's evaluation of Jia Xu:
All I do in life is protect myself.

Thinking of this, Liu Bei did not force anyone to do anything, so he smiled and said:

"Since Wenhe is determined to retire and return home, I will grant you your request and grant you a fief of 1,000 households, so you can retire peacefully."

A huge stone fell from Jia Xu's heart, and a rare look of surprise appeared on his face, which was usually calm and expressionless.

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

Jia Xu immediately bowed deeply again to thank Liu Bei for his gift.

At this time.

Xiao Fang pointed his wine glass to the west and changed the subject:
"Wenhe is from Liangzhou. If he wants to retire, he has to go back to Liangzhou. But now Liangzhou is still occupied by Cao Cao."

"If your majesty wants to allow Wenhe to return home, you must first recover Liangzhou!"

These words instantly brought Liu Bei's thoughts back to reality.

The laughter and chatter of the ministers in the hall gradually quieted down.

Chen Dao recognized Liu Bei's expression and immediately ordered a map to be brought and spread out in front of the hall.

"The Prime Minister is right. If Wenhe wants to return home, I have to recover Liangzhou first."

"Now that Cao Cao has fled west to Liang Province, in your opinion, should I lead my troops westward now, or should I wait for a while to calm down the situation in Guanzhong before advancing westward?"

Liu Bei asked, pointing at the map with his wine glass in his hand.

"Since launching the Western Expedition, our army has successively experienced the Battle of Puban Pass and the Battle of Weishui. We also fought for another month under the city of Chang'an. The soldiers are exhausted from the long battles and their mental and physical strength are no longer able to sustain the Western Expedition to Liangzhou."

"Moreover, Chang'an has just been captured, and all the counties in Guanzhong have not yet been recovered. If we rush west to Liangzhou at this time, if there is chaos in the rear, it will affect the recovery of Liangzhou."

"So the top priority now is naturally to rest the soldiers and pacify Guanzhong."

Xiao Fang pointed at the counties in Guanzhong and analyzed the pros and cons.

Liu Bei nodded slightly, agreeing with it, and was about to speak in agreement.

"but."

Xiao Fang changed the subject and said:
"Just because we don't march west to retake Liang Province doesn't mean we can't send a small number of troops to pursue Cao Cao. We should first open up the Longshan Passage and create a gap into Liang Province, so as to prepare for His Majesty's personal expedition to Liang Province in the future."

Open a gap into Liangzhou?

Liu Bei looked puzzled, obviously not understanding what Xiao Fang meant. "Your Majesty, please look."

Xiao Fang put down his wine glass and pointed at the map with his feather fan:
"The Longshan Mountains separate Guanzhong and Liangzhou. The area east of the Longshan Mountains is Guanzhong, and the area west of the Longshan Mountains is Liangzhou."

"And the counties near the west side of Longshan Mountain, such as Tianshui and Anding in the southern part of Liangzhou, are also called Longxi."

"Most of the population of Liangzhou gathers in the Longxi counties, and although the land there is not very fertile, it can still provide some food and fodder for the Qin army."

"So after Cao Cao retreated to Liang Province, he would definitely use Yi Province as his backup and the Longshan Mountains as his natural barrier to choose to defend Longxi."

As he spoke, Xiao Fang raised his feather fan and pointed towards the mountain range.

"The Longshan Mountains are the remnant of the Qinling Mountains. Although they are not as dangerous as the Qinling Mountains, they are still a natural barrier after all."

"There are many valleys between the Long Mountains, connecting Guanzhong and Longxi. The most convenient and flat valley is to go north from Chencang, go west along the Long River, cross the Long Mountains, and finally enter Longxi from Jieting."

"If our army marches west to Liangzhou in the future, we will have to take the Longshui Road and cross the Longshan Mountain to facilitate the supply of food and grass."

"And the key point of this valley road lies in this Jieting!"

Xiao Fang pointed his feather fan at the inconspicuous city on the western edge of Longshan Mountain on the map.

"This place controls the western entrance of the Longshui River and is the only pass to enter Longxi. After Cao Cao retreats to Longxi, he will definitely build a strong city here to block our army in the future."

"So what I mean is that Your Majesty can send a general to lead 20,000 elite infantry and cavalry to pursue Cao Cao westwards and capture the city before Cao Cao has time to pay attention to Jieting."

"In this way, we have driven a nail into Longxi and opened a gap in the Longshan Mountains, rendering Cao Cao's Longshan defense line useless."

"Then soon, when Your Majesty leads the army to the west to attack Liangzhou, he will be able to enter Longxi unimpeded and recapture Longxi and even the entire Liangzhou with overwhelming force!"

After laying the groundwork for a long time, Xiao Fang finally revealed his true intentions.

Seize Jieting!

As a person with foresight, how could he not remember how important Jieting is?

When my brother-in-law Zhuge Liang was leading the Northern Expedition, he was on the verge of success, but he stumbled and suffered a major setback at the crucial location of Jieting.

After the loss of Jieting, the Shu army was forced to retreat completely, and the captured Longxi counties were lost again. The first Northern Expedition, which had the best situation among the six Northern Expeditions, also ended in failure.

Although the roles of the attacking and defending parties have changed, the strategic significance of Jieting has not changed.

With this historical lesson, Xiao Fang naturally understood the importance of Jieting, so he advised Liu Bang to take Jieting first.

Liu Bei perked up, stared at the map, and carefully pondered Xiao Fang's strategy.

All the ministers gathered around and started talking about it.

"Prime Minister Xiao really knows the geography of the world like the back of his hand. Even a person like Ling Xu from Liangzhou cannot compare to him."

Jia Xu was full of admiration and then bowed to Liu Bei:

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is right. Jieting is indeed the key point of Longshan Mountain. Our army should send a group of elite soldiers to seize this place first!"

With the testimony of Jia Xu, a native of Liangzhou, Liu Bei was even more convinced of Xiao Fang's strategy.

He immediately glanced at all the ministers and asked cheerfully:

"My Lords, who among you is willing to lead the army to seize Jieting?"

The words trailed off.

Zhang He was the first to jump out and said with emotion:

"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the army to seize Jieting!"

Almost at the same time, Ma Su also stood up and bowed:

"Your Majesty, I am also willing to lead the army to pursue the Qin army and seize Jieting for Your Majesty!" (End of this chapter)