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

Cao Zhang seemed to understand something, raised his head and looked towards the west.

West of Dunhuang, beyond Yumen Pass, is the Western Regions.

Soon after Emperor Wu of Han opened up the Western Regions, he set up the Office of the Chief Administrator of the Western Regions to exercise control over the Thirty-Six Kingdoms.

However, after the Dong Zhuo Rebellion and the fall of the world, the countries in the Western Regions took the opportunity to break away from the rule of the Han Dynasty.

The Office of the Chief Secretary of the Western Regions was also in name only.

After Cao Cao replaced the Han Dynasty and established the Qin Dynasty, in order to concentrate his forces to compete with Liu Bei for the world, he temporarily gave up restoring his rule over the Western Regions and did not re-establish the Office of the Chief Secretary of the Western Regions.

Of course, the countries in the Western Regions were weak in combat power and could not pose a threat to the Qin State.

In the past, envoys of the Han Dynasty were often able to destroy a country or kill its king and force the country to submit to the Han Dynasty with only a delegation of dozens of people.

With such combat effectiveness, it would be easy for him to lead more than 10,000 Qin troops into the Western Regions, conquer a few small countries, and establish himself as a king and a local emperor.

But the Western Regions are too vast, and the countries are scattered on oases, all blocked by the Gobi desert.

It is easy for you to occupy one or two oases, but it is impossible to annex the entire Western Region with only 10,000 troops.

Then you can only do as Guo Jia said and give up the idea of ​​taking back Liangzhou and returning to Central Plains.

In this life, you can only live in an oasis in the Gobi Desert, be the king of a small country, and spend the rest of your life there.

"I am a descendant of the Cao family. How can I allow myself to degenerate and become the king of an unknown small country in a foreign land?"

"Retreating to the Western Regions is not an option!"

Cao Zhang's face lit up with ambition and he flatly rejected Guo Jia's idea. He then asked:

"Fengxiao, what is the second way?"

Guo Jia seemed to have expected that Cao Zhang would not retreat to the Western Regions, and then pointed north on the map:
"Change the route to the north, go up along the Ruoshui River, and retreat to the vassal state of Guyan."

"This vassal state has the Juyan Lake, which has lush grass and water, and is suitable for both farming and animal husbandry. It is one of the few prosperous places in northern Liang."

"After we retreat here, we can not only collect a lot of food and fodder for military supplies, but also get a lot of horses."

"With these horses and food, we can continue northward into the grasslands, and then eastward to rely on the Xianbei people!"

Xianbei people?
Cao Zhang's eyes lit up and he quickly looked at the map, as if Guo Jia had opened up a new world to him.

"After the Xiongnu moved south and submitted to the interior, the Xianbei people migrated from east to west, gradually replacing the Xiongnu and becoming the masters of the grassland."

"Originally, the Xianbei people were a loose alliance with little fighting power. But as far as Jia knows, a heroic leader named Kebineng emerged from one of the Xianbei tribes. He successively annexed many Xianbei tribes and was about to unify the grassland."

"Especially, Kebi took advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains to recruit and employ many Han people who fled to the outside of the Great Wall, including many famous Han people."

"And this Ke Bineng is extremely ambitious. He has great ambitions to recreate the former glory of the Xiongnu, dominate the northern frontier, and get involved in the border states of You and Bing."

After a pause, Guo Jia continued:

"So according to my calculations, Ke Bineng will sooner or later lead his troops south, cross the Great Wall and invade the border areas of the pseudo-Han."

"Your Highness can go to the grassland under the pretext of being entrusted by the emperor to form an alliance with Kebi Neng. I believe you will be treated with courtesy by Kebi Neng."

"Then Your Highness will be able to legitimately recruit Han people who have fled to the northern frontier to rebuild his strength."

"When Kebi is able to lead his troops into the Great Wall, Your Highness can follow him into Youzhou and Bingzhou and reap the benefits from the Xianbei people."

Guo Jia pointed out a second way for Cao Zhang.

The more Cao Zhang listened to this path, the more excited he became. Hope was rekindled in his eyes, which had originally been filled with despair and gloom.

"Juyan, Ruoshui, Xianbei, Youbing..."

Cao Zhang stared at the map and muttered to himself, savoring the blueprint for the future outlined by Guo Jia.

Judging from the change in his expression, he was obviously leaning towards the second option proposed by Guo Jia. "Your Highness is the King of our Great Qin. What kind of status and position do you have? If you go and rely on Ke Bineng, a mere Hu chieftain, wouldn't you be laughed at by the world?"

"Since ancient times, only the Hu people migrated southward and submitted to the Han people. Have you ever heard of a king of the Han people submitting to the Hu people?"

"Your Highness, please think twice!"

Yang Fu was obviously unwilling to flee Liangzhou and follow Cao Zhang to the grassland to live under someone else's roof and have to accept the Xianbei people's wishes.

Cao Zhang's body stiffened and his brows furrowed.

dignity.

Yang Fu's words successfully hurt Cao Zhang's dignity.

As the son of the heroic Cao Cao, Cao Zhang still possesses some basic character.

Cao Zhang could not do something like his deceased brother Cao Zhi, who was willing to cede land and marry Yufuluo in order to obtain the Huns' help.

Similarly, he could use the Xianbei people and form an alliance with them, but he could never accept having to kowtow to Kebi Neng and live to the Xianbei people's will.

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Cao Zhang fell into hesitation again.

"Of course I know that going to the grassland to join the Xianbei people is an insult to the dignity of the Qin Dynasty and to the dignity of Your Highness."

"In my heart, I don't want to live under someone else's roof on the grassland and bow to Chief Kebinen."

"But I know that apart from fleeing to the Western Regions, the only option is to rely on the Xianbei people."

"Other than that, there is only death."

"As your Highness's subject, it is my duty to inform you of these two options."

"As for whether Your Highness should retreat to the Western Regions, go to the grasslands and live under someone else's roof, or stay here and fight to the death, it is up to Your Highness to decide."

"All I can do is to follow life and death."

Guo Jia's every word made his intentions clear.

Cao Zhang seemed to be thinking about something, and remained silent, muttering "life and death, dignity..."

Yang Fu became more and more nervous, because he could tell from the changes in Cao Zhang's expression that Cao Zhang's determination was wavering and there were signs that he was going to follow Guo Jia's second path.

"I, Yang Fu, am from Liangzhou. I will never leave my hometown and go to the frontier to survive..."

"But the emperor has been kind to me, and I cannot betray him and surrender to Liu Bei just to survive..."

"Then only..."

Yang Fu's thoughts turned, and his eyes accidentally glanced at the map. Looking at the word "Ruoshui", he suddenly had an idea.

"Your Highness, I have come up with another plan. Perhaps we can wipe out the pursuing Han army in one fell swoop in Juyan!"

"If this plan succeeds, we won't have to flee to the grasslands, and Your Highness won't have to rely on the Xianbei people and live under the protection of the Hu people!"

Cao Zhang was overjoyed and suddenly became extremely excited, as if he had seen a ray of light again in the darkness.

"Yang Yishan, if you have any ingenious plan, please tell us quickly!"

Cao Zhang suppressed his joy and asked impatiently.

Yang Fu dismissed the idlers around him, lowered his voice, and slowly explained his plan.

After hearing this, Guo Jia frowned and shook his head:
"Yang Yishan, isn't this so-called brilliant plan of yours the same strategy that Xiao Fang used back then?"

"Have you forgotten the lesson of your imitating others in the battle of Cangsong so quickly?" (End of this chapter)