The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 137 The frightened bird
When Mi Wei arrived at the temporary residence of the prefectural government, all the officials and generals were gathered together, and the atmosphere was somber.

This northward alliance was essentially seizing a window of opportunity when Cao Wei was unable to attend to both its eastern and western borders.

But it doesn't matter whether it's the Lushui Hu of Anding or the Lushui Hu of Liangzhou.

Including Feng Yihao, who was actually a bandit leader, and Zheng Gan.

None of them could possibly be a match for Cao Wei's regular army.

The unrest might subside before winter is over.

Once Cao Wei has freed up its resources on both sides, it will be much more difficult to intervene in Longyou.

At this moment, Liu Bei pointed at He Zong and said:
"You are the Grand Herald, and the Di people have broken their promise. What is your explanation?"

He Zong hurriedly said:

“Last night I cast a divination, and the hexagram is Qian below and Xun above, which is the hexagram of ‘Small Accumulation’.”

The commentary on the hexagram says: "Dense clouds but no rain, it is still going forward; from my western suburbs, the rain has not yet fallen."

"This means that when dark clouds gather but no rain falls, yin prevails over yang, and the time is not yet ripe, a wise man should not act rashly."

Upon hearing this, apart from Miwei's somewhat strained expression, everyone else fell into a state of disappointment once again.

There's no way around it, metaphysics is just so popular these days.

When Mi Wei was "loaded" into the body, didn't a great shaman from Sichuan say that he was possessed by an evil spirit?

Although from his perspective, it wasn't entirely wrong...

In short, He Zong's meaning was very clear: he advised Liu Bei to stop there.

Be patient and wait for the next opportunity.

However, Liu Bei was already over sixty years old.

This alliance in the north was planned starting last year.

Will there be a next chance? Who can guarantee that?
I still can't let this go!
He then turned to the generals around him.

Huang Quan, as the chief strategist, stepped forward without hesitation and said:

"I also believe that the enemy situation in the northern border is unclear, and we should not act rashly."

"But precisely because the enemy situation is unclear, we must send more scouts to investigate and find out the reason why the Di people refused to go south before making a decision."

“Your words are practical.” Liu Bei nodded, then looked at Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun, in full armor, said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to personally lead a light cavalry north to investigate the Di people's background!"

"good!"

Liu Bei then looked at the other generals.

But after going around in circles, it finally landed on Miwei:
"You predicted last year that Yongliang would inevitably descend into chaos. What is your opinion now?"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at him.

Mi Wei thought to himself, "Old Liu isn't even pretending anymore; he seems really desperate!"

He hurriedly replied, "I believe what you gentlemen have said makes a lot of sense. The priority now should be to ascertain the situation in the north. Before that, we are merely speculating."

Liu Bei waved his hand and said:
"It's alright, let them guess. Even if we send out more scouts, we still need to prioritize them, right?"

That makes sense.

Make bold assumptions, then verify them carefully.

After a moment's thought, he said:

"In my opinion, there are only three reasons why the Di people refused to move south."

"Firstly, Su Ze had already pacified the Lushui Hu tribes in Liangzhou, and the Di people, fearing his military might, dared not move south to form an alliance."

"Secondly, Cao Zhen and Zhang He have already pacified the Lushui Hu in Anding and have made the gesture of sending troops to Longyou, which makes the Di people equally fearful."

He paused slightly, then continued:
"If it is the first one, a messenger should be sent to inform the General of the Cavalry immediately."

"Firstly, we must be wary of being ambushed by the Qiang people, who are being coerced by Su Ze. Secondly, the Qiang road is closer to Liangzhou, making it easier to scout out the enemy's situation in that direction."

"If it is the second one, Guanzhong is far away from here, and there are several counties in Longyou blocking the way, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to find out."

"Why not go north to investigate while simultaneously notifying Wei Zhen of Hanzhong to go north along the Baoxie Road to spy on the situation in Guanzhong, and to provide some restraint if necessary?"

Liu Bei nodded repeatedly, but then Mi Wei abruptly stopped, frowning as he said:

"And the third reason?"

Mi Wei took a slight breath and said:

"This third reason is based on my past experiences and is therefore unreliable and is only a supplement."

"I asked Meng Yilang about grape wine the other day, and only then did I learn that the trade route to the Western Regions had been cut off as early as the Jian'an period."

“The Qiang and Di tribes of Longyou live together in the mountains and rivers, and have long been unaware of the affairs of the king within the pass, just like the three counties of Nanzhong and Dong.”

Upon hearing this, Meng Da, who was standing in the corner of the crowd, shuddered. However, no one paid any attention.

"This reminds me of when I traveled through Shangyong to enter Sichuan at the end of last year, and some mountain people blocked my way."

"Upon inquiry, it was discovered that the man had lived in seclusion for a long time and was unaware that Cao Pi had usurped the Han throne, or even that Cao Cao had died. He still believed that Emperor Xiaomin was still on the throne."

At this point, the intelligent people present all realized what was going on.

Huang Quan's expression brightened, and he said:
"What Master Mi said was conjecture, but it was not without reason!"

"After all, the rebellion of the Yongliang Lushui Hu was a long-standing problem that could not be quelled in a short time."

"The Cao family had massacred many Di chieftains, and they were already like frightened birds. Perhaps they misjudged the situation because of some unusual movements by the Cao army!"

With Huang Quan's voice of support, Mi Wei's suggestion was quickly and unanimously approved.

In the following days, scouts and messengers were on the move.

Zhao Yun even personally led a force north to investigate.

After making his decision, Liu Bei calmed down.

He took Miwei to see the Xixia Song stone inscription and even copied down the inscription.

Several days later, Liu Bei returned home in high spirits, and scouts from all sides gathered intelligence at Xiabian.

The result was somewhat laughable.

It turned out that the Di people had indeed misjudged the situation, which is why they refused to move south.

However, this misjudgment had nothing to do with the Cao Wei armies in the Yong and Liang directions.

Rather, it was because the four counties of Longyou, namely Longxi, Nan'an, Tianshui, and Guangwei, belonged to Yongzhou.

The government suddenly initiated a conscription.

This conscription was related to Ma Chao's northward journey through the Qiang region.

Yes, Ma Chao set off at the same time as Liu Bei.

However, because there were fewer troops and the terrain was relatively flat, they reached their destination faster.

Then, because Ma Chao was unparalleled in prestige among the Qiang people, coupled with the long-standing feud between the Liangzhou Lushui Hu and Cao Wei, the alliance was successfully formed, greatly boosting its momentum.

It is said that Protector of the Qiang, Su Ze, fearing a pincer attack from Ma Chao and the Lu Shui Hu, has retreated to the east of Jincheng.

The intention was to preserve strength for the future.

The sudden mobilization of the four prefectures of Longyou was all to support Su Ze.

It is said that this sudden conscription was carried out by Zhang Ji, the newly appointed governor of Liangzhou by Cao Pi.

He had gone west to Liangzhou last year to assist Su Ze in quelling the Liang rebellion.

in short.

Because Ma Chao's alliance with the Qiang people was too successful.

This indirectly led to Liu Bei's alliance with the Di people suffering a setback!
Upon learning the whole story, the entire staff of the Xingzai Bureau were almost speechless for a long time.

Of course, this cannot be blamed on Ma Chao.

They clearly made a great contribution!
Therefore, Liu Bei quickly made a new decision.

First, he sent envoys to commend Ma Chao and Wu Yi, and granted them the authority to make decisions on the battlefield.

Let's see if we can take a piece of the pie from Su Ze's side to further weaken Cao Wei's military power in Liangzhou.

Secondly, envoys were dispatched again to meet with the various Di tribes to give them a proper "education" on the current situation in the world, so they wouldn't keep scaring themselves.

The messengers set off again.

Liu Bei, meanwhile, once again led Mi Wei on a stroll around the area around Xiabian.

This trip is to inspect abandoned farmland and see if it can be utilized in the future.

Soon, the messengers who had gone to see the various tribes of the Di people returned with their messages.

The Di people agreed to continue their alliance.

However, the meeting place should be moved north to the west of Qishan, to the Didao area near the border of Nan'an and Tianshui.

To be honest, that's a bit much.

Because those two prefectures, unlike the abandoned Wudu, are still under the actual control of Cao Wei.

Whenever Liu Bei's "yellow canopy and left banner" appeared there, the entire territory of Cao Wei would be shaken.

At that time, it was either Su Ze from Liangzhou, or Cao Zhen and Zhang He from Guanzhong.

They would all abandon their respective Lu Shui Hu and rush to Longyou to resist Liu Bei!
Cao Pi himself might even move from Luoyang to Chang'an to take command.

This could easily escalate into a nationwide war involving over 100,000 people!
(End of this chapter)