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

Xiao Fang gave Liu Bei a plan to destroy Cao.

"Prime Minister, Cao Cao has retreated to a corner of Yizhou and has no power to fight back. He can only sit and wait for death."

"Our soldiers have been through the battles in Longxi and Liangzhou, and they are exhausted both mentally and physically. They are in urgent need of a long-term rest."

"If we send troops to Yizhou after the autumn harvest, will the soldiers not be able to rest sufficiently?"

"Furthermore, the continuous attacks on Qin have consumed a huge amount of food and grass, and the people are increasingly burdened with labor. Even if our Han Dynasty is strong, it will be difficult to sustain it."

"Do we really have to be so anxious to conquer Qin and Shu?"

"What I mean is that the pseudo-Qin must be destroyed, but can it be postponed for a year to give the soldiers more time to rest and let the people catch their breath."

This time, Liu Bei did not accept Xiao Fang's suggestion without thinking.

Xiao Fang understood Liu Bei's original intention.

It's not that Old Liu was getting cocky, thinking that Cao Cao had no chance of making a comeback, so he relaxed and wanted to lie down and enjoy himself.

After all, Old Liu was a benevolent monarch. He took into consideration the hardships of his soldiers in the battles and the heavy burdens on the people.

The war to destroy Cao cannot be delayed, it must be fought quickly.

There is no way, Yizhou is such a special place.

If this happened in other states, even border states like Youzhou and Bingzhou, it would not be a rush to destroy them.

It doesn't matter when to destroy them. Liu Bei just needs to issue an imperial decree and send hundreds of thousands of troops to attack.

There is a huge gap in national strength, I can crush you to death even with my eyes closed.

But Yizhou is different.

Qinling Mountains, the Three Gorges, Yangping Pass, Baishui Pass, Jiameng Pass, Jiange Pass…

Yizhou accounts for half of the famous passes in the world.

Every pass is guarded by one man and ten thousand men cannot break through.

In the history of that day, Sima Zhao destroyed Shu Han by taking advantage of the decline of Shu Han's national strength. Jiang Wei's main force was not in Hanzhong, and he relied on the surrender faction to surrender without a fight, and then he took advantage of the opportunity to sneak into Hanzhong.

Even Deng Ai's final sneak crossing of Yinping was a risky move, with luck playing a big part.

It is useless to capture Yizhou with hard power without stealing or luck, even if you have an army of one million.

Cao Cao has just retreated from Yizhou and is still in the stage of licking his wounds.

In other words, the Qin State is now at its weakest.

If it had taken a few years to destroy Qin, it would have given Cao Cao a chance to recover, recuperate, and regroup.

Given the wealth of Yizhou and Cao Cao's strategic vision, it shouldn't be difficult to support a hundred thousand soldiers with a population of one million.

With these 100,000 Qin troops, if tens of thousands are released at Yangping Pass, tens of thousands are blocked at the entrances of Xiegu and other valleys, and tens of thousands more are blocked at Baidi City, how can you defeat them?
By that time, it will not be as simple as twelve states fighting against one state.

It was precisely because of his foresight that Xiao Fang naturally could not let Old Liu delay the destruction of Qin, and he had to take advantage of Cao Cao's illness to kill him.

Even though the battle to capture Liangzhou and Longxi just ended in the early spring of this year and the people's strength has not yet recovered, the offensive to destroy Qin must be launched this autumn.

"Your Majesty, I know that you are worried about the soldiers and the people, but if you don't attack Shu as soon as possible, it will be handed over to Cao Cao..."

Next, Xiao Fang explained to Liu Bei the interests involved in quickly destroying the pseudo-Qin.

"To conquer Shu now, the soldiers and the people will only have to work hard for a year or two at most."

"If we don't attack Shu, it will give Cao Cao a chance to recover and train his troops to defend the passes in Yizhou. Then the difficulty of attacking Shu and destroying Qin will be doubled, and it will take who knows how long."

"At that time, the soldiers would have to march non-stop for months and years without taking off their armor, and the common people would have to bear endless labor service to support hundreds of thousands of troops."

"The sufferings endured by the soldiers and civilians at that time, and the expenditure of the state's money and grain, were incalculable, far greater than the expenditure of attacking Shu now."

“Therefore, I believe that a short pain is worse than a long one. Your Majesty should attack Qin as soon as possible to end the division and unify the world. This is the best strategy.” Liu Bei was suddenly enlightened, and all his worries disappeared in an instant.

"Your Excellency, what you said makes sense. A short pain is worse than a long one. Well said!"

Liu Bei's eyes became determined, and he said resolutely:

"I will follow the Prime Minister's advice. After the autumn harvest, we will lead our army to attack Shu and destroy Qin."

"I will unify the world as quickly as possible and bring peace and prosperity to the people!"

Liu Bei had made up his mind.

The major policy of attacking Shu and destroying Qin was thus decided.

So Liu Bei decided to stay in Chang'an, while the Crown Prince Liu Chen would continue to govern the eastern capital Luoyang, and the Minister of the Chancellery Zhuge Liang would remain to assist in the administration.

Of the hundreds of thousands of troops that marched west, most stayed in Guanzhong for rest and training, except for those who stayed behind in Longxi and Liangzhou, and were transferred to Bingyou Border County to strengthen the defense against the Xianbei people.

In Luoyang, Liu Chen also received an imperial decree and instructed Zhuge Liang to continue to transport grain and fodder from the various states in Guandong to the Guanlong front line in preparation for the attack on Shu in the autumn.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

...

Yizhou, Chengdu City.

In the magnificent imperial palace, Cao Cao was hugging a beautiful concubine, drinking fine wine, and admiring the graceful dances of the dancers in front of the palace.

Liangzhou fell, Longxi fell, and the fear and despair of fleeing southward were gradually dispelled by wine and beautiful women.

"It would be nice if it continued like this until I died..."

Such a thought suddenly emerged in Cao Cao's mind.

He is really old and can't fight anymore.

Repeated failures, the deaths of his sons, the loss of one state after another, and countless blows have completely worn away his heroic spirit.

Especially since entering Shu, he witnessed the danger of the Qinling Mountains again. After passing through those dangerous passes, he realized that with such natural dangers, Liu Bei would never be able to enter Yizhou again.

These strategic passes and dangerous passes were like a double-sided lock, locking up Liu Bei while also locking themselves up.

In this life, there is no hope of going north out of the Qinling Mountains and recovering lost territory.

Since I can't get out and Liu Bei can't get in, why should I bother?

Isn't it wonderful to close the door, drink good wine, enjoy beautiful women, and happily enjoy the few remaining years of your life?
It was driven by these thoughts that Cao Cao began to take in many concubines and enjoy himself lavishly after entering Chengdu.

As for the government affairs, he simply let it go and handed it over to Crown Prince Cao Pi, under the pretext of training the crown prince.

"Good wine, beautiful women, happy, happy, haha——"

Cao Cao laughed heartily and drank the whole glass of wine.

The wine just went down my throat.

The sound of hurried footsteps sounded.

Cao Pi, Cheng Yu, Xiahou Dun, Zhang Song, Huang Quan and other civil and military officials all poured into the hall.

The dancers were frightened by the scene and retreated to the side.

Cao Cao's mood was disturbed and he said unhappily:

"What are you doing? Why did you enter the palace without permission?"

Everyone's faces were solemn and they were silent. Their eyes finally focused on Cao Pi.

Cao Pi took a deep breath, stepped forward, and bowed:
"Father, my spy in Guanzhong just sent back a message that my third brother was killed by Liu Bei in Chang'an!" (End of this chapter)