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

"The big-eared thief has raised an army of 300,000 to attack Longxi. The survival of the Qin Dynasty is at stake!"

"Tell me what good strategies you have for defending against the enemy."

Inside the Qin Palace, Cao Cao was frowning and asking questions to his ministers.

There was silence below the imperial steps.

Some of the ministers looked at each other, some bowed their heads silently, and some wanted to speak but stopped themselves, but no one spoke.

Zhang Song is the one who is hesitant to speak.

Jieting was lost, the Longshan defense line was useless, and there were less than 90,000 soldiers available!

It can be said that the Qin State had neither soldiers nor geographical advantages.

How can we resist 300,000 Han troops?
Even someone as conceited as Zhang Song had to admit at this moment that he had run out of tricks and had no ability to turn the tide.

The wisest choice is naturally to give up Longxi and even the entire Liangzhou.

All the troops, all the property, and even the entire population of Longxi were moved to Yizhou.

In this way, Qin will regain its geographical advantage.

What are Yangping Pass, Jiameng Pass, Baishui Pass...

What are Xiegukou, Jigukou, Ziwugukou...

Everything is blocked, and I live my little life isolated from the world behind closed doors.

Even if you, Liu Bei, have a million soldiers, what can you do to me?
Zhang Song understood that this was the best strategy, and so did many other ministers. The key point was that Cao Cao did not understand it.

In other words, Cao Cao knew the situation but pretended to be ignorant, because he was unwilling to abandon Longxi.

For the sake of face, for the nominal legitimacy of the country in the north, or for a little regret of competing for supremacy in the Central Plains...

In short, Cao Cao fell into a mental trap and was trapped inside, with no possibility of climbing out.

Persuading Cao Cao to give up Longxi at this time would be tantamount to angering Cao Cao and would be a waste of time.

Zhang Song is naturally not that stupid.

So he chose silence.

Zhang Song did not dare to make any remonstrances, and naturally the other ministers did not dare to speak either.

There was silence in the hall and the atmosphere was awkward.

Looking at his ministers who were pretending to be deaf and dumb, Cao Cao couldn't help but feel sad.

His great Qin Empire was losing talented people.

Thinking back to the grand scene back then when there were so many counselors, it was such a glorious time.

Xun Yu, Xun You, Jia Xu, Liu Ye, Guo Jia...

Those who were the king's assistants were forced to death by him, died in battle, or defected to Liu Bei...

Among the few remaining veteran advisers, Cheng Yu was in Yizhou assisting Xiahou Yuan, and Guo Jia was driven to Liangzhou by him.

He suddenly realized that there was no one around him who could give him advice.

As for the only remaining Zhang Song...

Repeated miscalculations have already proven its own strengths and weaknesses, so it’s better not to mention them.

"If Fengxiao were here, it would be great. I wouldn't have no one to help me solve my problems when I face a powerful enemy..."

Cao Cao sighed with a sense of loss and suddenly missed Guo Jia.

"Your Majesty, I have a plan, but I don't know whether I should tell you or not!"

In the silence, someone finally spoke.

Cao Cao was cheered up and looked in the direction of the voice. He saw that the person who came out was Yan Pu.

As the old ones die, new ones have to take their places.

After Guo Jia was driven away, a new strategist had to take over to enrich the team of advisers.

Yan Pu was one of the counselors promoted by Cao Cao.

Moreover, Yan Pu was a representative of the Hanzhong faction, and promoting him also had the intention of using the Hanzhong faction to contain the Shu faction to which Zhang Song belonged.

"If you have any good ideas, Mr. Yan, please feel free to tell me!"

Cao Cao's eyes sparkled with hope, and he asked impatiently. Yan Pu coughed a few times, hesitated for a moment, and then saluted and said seriously:
"Now Jieting is in the hands of the pseudo-Han, the Longshan defense line is useless, we have lost all the geographical advantages, and there is no way to stop the Han army from entering the Longxi Plain."

"From Longxi to Jicheng, the terrain is flat and there is no strategic location to defend. The two cities of Xianqin and Lueyang were disturbed by Liu Bei's light cavalry and could not be built and reinforced for a long time."

"And our army only has 90,000 soldiers available, while Liu Bei personally leads an army of 300,000. The difference in strength between us is huge."

"Our army has neither the advantage of manpower nor the advantage of terrain. I think Jicheng, Longxi, and even the entire Liangzhou are difficult to defend."

"So I dare to ask Your Majesty to abandon Longxi and move all the soldiers and civilians south to Hanzhong."

"In this way, our army will preserve its strength. With the help of the Qinling Mountains, we can defend when retreating and attack when advancing, and we will be invincible!"

The ministers breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, there were some stubborn people who said what they dared not say.

In addition to feeling relieved, Zhang Song's mouth corners slightly raised, and a hint of sarcasm flashed across his eyes as he secretly glanced at Yan Pu.

Yan Pu obviously did not understand Cao Cao's thoughts, and dared to touch his reverse scale by persuading Cao Cao to give up Longxi!

It would be strange if Cao Cao was not furious!
Seeing that Yan Pu, a member of the Hanzhong faction, was about to be rebuked by Cao Cao, Zhang Song was naturally glad and gloating.

really.

The hope on Cao Cao's face turned into disappointment, and then disappointment gradually turned into anger.

"Snapped!"

As soon as he slammed the table, he got furious.

"Your Majesty, I second Yan Boyu's proposal!"

At the critical moment, one person stepped out and said loudly:
"I also think that with the current national strength and military power of our Great Qin, and given the loss of our geographical advantage, it is difficult for us to resist the 300,000 Han army."

"If we insist on holding on to Longxi, the result will most likely be not only the loss of soldiers and horses, but also the defeat and retreat to Yizhou."

"I think it is better to lose the land and keep the people than to lose both the people and the land!"

Zhang Song, who was about to watch the fun, looked back and was surprised when he saw who was making the suggestion.

Huang Quan.

The person who made the suggestion was Huang Quan, one of the backbone members of the Shu faction, who had recently been transferred from Yizhou to Jicheng by Cao Cao to supplement the group of advisers.

"Huang Gongheng, you actually agreed with Yan Pu. Have you forgotten which faction you belong to?"

Zhang Song's brows immediately frowned, and he complained secretly in his heart.

Yan Pu turned around and glanced at Huang Quan, his eyes were surprised at first, and then revealed a bit of admiration.

Although he was a member of the Shu faction, he was able to put the overall interests of the country first at this critical moment of the Qin State's survival and support the proposal of his own Hanzhong faction.

Yan Pu naturally admired Huang Quan's impartiality and integrity.

Cao Cao was about to reprimand Yan Pu, but was blocked by Huang Quan when he almost said this.

Yan Pu and Huang Quan represent the attitude of the entire Yizhou officials.

He could reprimand each individual, but Cao Cao had to weigh the consequences of the whole thing.

For a moment, Cao Cao fell silent and did not immediately express his opinion.

Both the Hanzhong faction and the Shu faction advocated abandoning Longxi and retreating to Yizhou, so he had to reconsider.

"Your Majesty, Longxi cannot be abandoned, and Liangzhou absolutely cannot be abandoned!"

Just as Cao Cao's attitude was quietly changing, another minister could no longer hold back and jumped out to express his opposition in a stern voice.

Everyone's eyes are focused.

The person who made the suggestion was Cheng Gongying.

Once Han Sui's military advisor.

After Jia Xu, Pang De and a large number of people from Guanzhong and Liangzhou surrendered to the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao had to promote Cheng Gongying to replace Jia Xu in order to win over and appease the people of Liangzhou.

now.

The representative of the Liangzhou faction strode forward and said with a look of grief and indignation:

"Your Majesty, I think those who advocate giving up Longxi and Liangzhou are all traitors who have harmed the country and should all be executed!" (End of this chapter)