Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1136 Liu Zheng falls into the trap
Chengdu.

This city, which neither experienced the Yellow Turban Rebellion nor suffered from the wars among the princes, has always maintained a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere.

Compared with the prosperity of Chang'an and Luoyang, Chengdu seems much quieter.

However, this silence was disrupted by the sudden sound of horse hooves.

"The army is out, the idlers stay away!"

"The army is out, the idlers stay away!"

The scout with a command flag on his back rushed through the street, leaving behind this shout.

After hearing this, the people walking on the street and the small vendors setting up stalls along the street quickly began to pack up their things and clear the street.

Originally, Liu Yan, as well as the governors and governors of previous dynasties, governed Yizhou with leniency and benevolence, and there was no such rule of clearing the streets in advance. Although there were similar regulations after Liu Yan became emperor, he was always afraid of being assassinated and never left the palace, so he never used it.

However, the military advisor Lieutenant General Fa Zheng believed that now that Yizhou was under the control of the imperial court again and people's hearts were still unstable, some severe laws and punishments were naturally needed to stabilize the area to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the opportunity to cause chaos.

Therefore, under his personal supervision, many new laws and regulations were formulated, and the order to clear the streets before the expedition was one of them.

Not long after the scout left, a very noisy sound of footsteps followed.

The generals in the lead were fully armored, and the war horses they rode were obviously not ordinary horses.

Behind him followed several teams of cavalry, about several thousand people, and behind them were the infantry.

As for the food and fodder team, they had already set out yesterday.

The young general in the center is naturally the current eldest prince, Liu Zheng.

He had just turned seventeen, and was now in the prime of his youth, with an upright figure and handsome features. He was wearing silver armor and riding a snow-white Jade Unicorn warhorse. As soon as he appeared, he caused a frenzy among the young girls around him.

It took a whole morning for the 40,000-strong army to walk out of the city. Afterwards, the streets returned to normal in an instant, and everyone continued to shop and do business, but they now had more topics to talk about.

The commander-in-chief of this expedition was nominally Wu Yi, the governor of Yizhou. Wu Yi was the general who accompanied Liu Yan when he entered Sichuan, and he had a very high prestige in the Yizhou army for more than ten years. If Zhang Ren was the military leader of the local gentry in Yizhou, then Wu Yi was the military leader of the foreign gentry.

What is even more rare is that Wu Yi himself has excellent moral integrity. He often interacts with scholars and behaves very humbly. Therefore, even the local gentry in Yizhou praise him.

Zhang Song and Fa Zheng were secretly preparing to welcome the imperial court into Sichuan, and their supporter in the army was this person. When Zhang Song secretly helped Ma Chao with quicklime, it was actually Wu Yi's work.

Therefore, after Liu He took control of Yizhou, he treated this man, who was originally Liu Bei's elder brother-in-law and the elder brother of Empress Mu of Shu Han, very well. He conferred upon him the titles of Governor of Yizhou and Marquis of Yiling. His cousin Wu Ban was also transferred to Luoyang to serve directly in the imperial guards.

However, Wu Yi was obviously not a stupid person. He naturally knew the purpose of His Majesty sending the eldest prince to Yizhou. Yizhou had just surrendered, and His Majesty could entrust such an important task to a surrendered general like him, which made him and the civil and military officials of Yizhou grateful. Of course, he could not be ungrateful and hold on to the military power of Yizhou.

Therefore, Wu Yi consciously chose to lead 20,000 troops and stay in Guanghan, to ensure the smooth passage of food supplies and to support Hanzhong at any time. He also sent Liu Zheng as the vanguard and Guan Ping as the deputy vanguard to march to Hanzhong. A hearty laugh came from the Shangyongcheng prefectural government.

"Hahaha... Liu Zheng, you little brat, really fell into the trap. You actually left Wu Yi's army and led a mere 20,000 soldiers as a vanguard to rescue Hanzhong. Isn't this just walking into a trap?"

Sun Ce was very proud when he saw the information sent back by the spies.

The Shen brothers had just surrendered and were about to show their loyalty, so they took the initiative to stand up.

The elder of the two, Shen Dan, clasped his fists and said, "My lord, Liu Zheng is the eldest son of the false emperor of Luoyang, and the nephew of Zhang Yong, a general of the false court. There are many people in the court and the army who support him as the crown prince, which shows that his status is very high. If we can capture him alive, it will not only greatly dampen the enemy's morale, but also make them hesitate when they fight with Guan Yu, Zhang Yong, Zhu Ye, Zhao Yun and others in the future. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone."

"Brother is right, my lord. I have not yet won any military merit under your command. This time I volunteered to lead the troops to attack Hanzhong first. I will definitely help you capture this Liao!"

Shen Yi seemed extremely excited.

Sun Ce waved his hand and said, "Well, the two generals are indeed loyal and brave, and are the pillars of the country. This time, you two have offered Shangyong, which is already a great achievement. If you can really capture Hanzhong and capture Liu Zheng alive, I will definitely report to the emperor and ask for merit for you two. At that time, it will not be difficult to make you a marquis and a general, and your name will be recorded in history."

Upon hearing this, the two brothers were overjoyed and bowed immediately.

"My lord, you have shown me such kindness. I, your brother, will go through fire and water to repay you even a fraction of the price!"

"Haha, please stand up quickly." Sun Ce gave him a false hand, then said: "I will give you two 20,000 elite soldiers, and join your own 8,000 troops to attack Hanzhong today. Gongjin and I will lead 30,000 troops and follow closely behind to help you."

"Thank you, my lord!" Shen Yi was about to thank him, but his elder brother Shen Dan said, "I'm afraid that the two of us can't do it alone. I've heard that you have many strong generals under your command. Please send one or two generals to help us."

Shen Yi looked at his elder brother suspiciously. The two of them had just surrendered and their prestige was insufficient. If they went on an expedition with the generals from Jiangdong, they would naturally be the ones in charge of the army. Even if they made contributions, they might not be able to get a share. Was his elder brother confused?

Unexpectedly, Sun Ce laughed and said, "Haha, don't worry too much. I, Sun Ce, always trust people I employ and never employ people I doubt. You don't have to worry. Since I have entrusted these 20,000 elite soldiers to you, I completely trust you two. Why do I need to send another general to lead them? Isn't that redundant?"

He took the initiative to step forward, grabbed Shen Dan's hand, and said sternly: "When Yi Ju was young, he went to war everywhere to eliminate the bandits in Shangyong and Xiping. I have heard of your reputation for bravery. Now I am a minister in the same court, and I want to join hands with you two brothers to eliminate the enemy. I hope you take care of yourself. Merit is important, but if you lose your life, even ten Liu Zhengs can't help you."

Shen Dan burst into tears and bowed down again: "I am a humble man, but I have received such an important trust from my lord. I will die with no regrets!"

After the two men left, Lu Su came over and said, "My lord, Hanzhong is the gateway to Yizhou and a strategic military town. Its capital, Nanzheng City, is not as strong as Chang'an and Luoyang, but it is not easy to capture. Moreover, Liu Zheng is also a fierce general. Although the two men of the Shen family are quite brave and strategic, it is not easy to capture Hanzhong. As for capturing Liu Zheng alive, it is impossible. My lord, it is better to send another general to lead the 20,000 elite troops."

"Zi Jing is overthinking." Zhou Yu said, "My lord, you know that these two are no match for Liu Zheng. This arrangement is to make him underestimate the enemy and rush forward. Only in this way can my lord's plan be successfully implemented."

"This..." Lu Su was still a little worried: "I heard that Liu Zheng's sworn brother Zhuge Liang is very wise. The Luoyang army took Hanzhong without a single soldier. He relied on this man's plan. We must be on guard."

Sun Ce heard this and showed contempt on his face: "Zhuge Liang? He is just a young man. Even if he has strategies, how can he compare to my Gongjin? Moreover, this strategy was also planned by Sima Zhongda for a long time. I don't think that Zhuge boy has much ability to defeat my plan."

After saying this, without waiting for Lu Su to say anything else, he immediately gave the order: "Pass my order, the whole army will rest for a day, and at the beginning of the morning hour tomorrow, we will march to Hanzhong!"

(End of this chapter)