Shu Han Confucian General of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 177
"Bo Tao, Bo Yan, you won't blame me for being unreasonable for calling you from your newly married wife so soon!" Liu Bei seemed to be in a good mood, and after seeing Zhao Feng and Lu Xun, he teased with a smile.

"My lord, you are serious, you should put state affairs first!" Zhao Feng and Lu Xun hurriedly thanked.If the leader has something to say, it's fine to listen to it, but it would be a tragedy if he really took it seriously.Only then did Zhao Feng discover that besides Lu Su and others who were in Shouchun, many important generals and civil servants also came to Shouchun, including Zhang Fei from Pengcheng, Zhang Liao from Yuzhou, Zhuge Liang from Jingzhou, Gao Lan from Yangzhou, Even Gao Shun from Qingzhou, whom he hadn't seen for some years, came.As a result, it took a lot of effort for everyone to reminisce about the past.

After everyone was seated, Liu Bei explained the reason for calling everyone here.Before that, Liu Bei took out two official documents and circulated them to everyone for reading. It turned out that these two official documents were sent by Yangzhou Mu Zhangzhao and Gan Ning who lived in Jiaozhou.Zhang Zhao told Liu Bei that Xu Jing, who was entrenched in Yizhou, no longer resisted after learning that the Sun family's foundation was shattered. Spring is coming; Gan Ning's share shows that Ling Tong, who was in Zhuya County, committed suicide after learning of Sun Quan's execution, and his subordinates also surrendered.The last two islands of the Sun family surrendered without a fight.Coincidentally, even the two military newspapers arrived in Shouchun on the same day.

"That is to say, Zhuya County and Yizhou have been pacified?" After reading the two military reports, Zhang Fei was also a little surprised.

"Exactly!" Liu Bei nodded with a smile.To be honest, although everyone thought that the defenders at these two places might collapse themselves, it was still a bit unexpected when it happened, and it was a pleasant surprise.

"At this point, all the troubles in southern Xinjiang have been cleared up, and my lord has no worries about the future. We only need to rectify the administration of officials, recuperate and prepare our troops, and then we can launch the Northern Expedition!" After reading all this, Zhuge Liang immediately understood what it meant.

Northern Expedition!

When these two words came out of Zhuge Liang's mouth, everyone felt refreshed.For a long time, although everyone has been fighting from time to time, they are often limited to one state.And once the Northern Expedition, it will be a decisive battle related to the ownership of the world. At that time, whether it is the strength of the troops or the scale of the area, it will be far from comparable to those battles in the past.Thinking that they would have the opportunity to participate in such a battle, everyone felt that their blood began to boil, and they even couldn't help but start to feel a little lost.

"Brother, I would like to lead an elite army to the north, wipe out Cao Cao's children, rescue your majesty, and help the big man!" After the excitement, the first person to react was Zhang Fei, who was most often prone to hotheadedness.Maybe for him, his blood is boiling all the time in his life, so it doesn't matter whether he reacts or not?
"Third brother, be safe and don't be impatient!" Liu Bei waved his hand to signal Zhang Fei not to be so excited, and then explained in detail: "At present, our army has experienced the attack of the five armies, especially after Sun's rebellion, this year there is no spare power. If there is another large-scale battle, the immediate Northern Expedition is unrealistic. Besides, I have an appointment with Cao Cao. As long as he is still sweeping the border for the big man, I will never do things that hinder me, lest my loved ones hurt my enemies. .”

"Since that's the case, my lord, what are we going to do next?" Gao Shun also asked after learning that Liu Bei would not march in the short term.

"Right now, I'm going to rest and recuperate, and wait for the decisive battle with Cao Cao in the future. I just received the military report yesterday. The remnants of Yuan Tan, who are entrenched in Youzhou, colluded with Xianbei to attack Cao Cao but failed, but Cao Cao took the opportunity to go east and conquer Xiadai Commandery and Shanggu And the three counties of Zhuojun, Yuan Tan was forced to retreat to Yuyang. I am afraid that in a few months, he will return to Liaodong." Liu Bei sighed.

"Is that so?" Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay.Hearing this news, everyone felt quite mixed. They were angry at Yuan Tan's attempt to lure wolves into the house, but also regretted his failure.After all, without Yuan Tan, Cao Cao's worries for the future will be greatly reduced. At that time, what he will face on his side will be a Cao Cao who has integrated the entire north and Guanzhong. It is conceivable that the pressure will be great.

"In addition, according to detailed reports, Cao Cao ordered to build a palace in Yecheng, presumably to force His Majesty to move the capital to Hebei." Liu Bei suddenly mentioned another matter.

"Move the capital to Hebei?" Zhao Feng was taken aback at first, but then he realized that this was normal.In history, when Guan Yu attacked Fancheng, Cao Cao was so frightened that he almost moved his capital, after all, it was too close to Fancheng.Now not only Fancheng, but also Wancheng and Runan are in Liu Bei's hands.Except that Liang County in the east is still in Cao Cao's hands, Liu Bei can attack Xuchang from the southwest.Once Xuchang falls, it will be a great blow to Cao Cao's morale and military spirit.Although moving the capital back to Hebei is hurting morale, it is much better than being directly captured by the capital.

"Brother, why don't you send Jingxiang navy to lie in ambush. Just wait until Cao Cao moves his capital to cross the Yellow River, and then take the opportunity to rescue the emperor?" Zhang Fei suddenly suggested.This proposal is quite novel, and everyone is a little bit excited.Liu Bei hesitated for a while, and finally sighed: "It's so inappropriate, the sword on the battlefield has no eyes, if it hurts the emperor, isn't Bei a sinner?"

"But?" Zhang Fei wanted to say something more, but Liu Bei waved his hand to signal him not to come up with such an idea of ​​reducing the risk factor to a relatively high level. If you want to move the capital, you can move the capital, and you can do whatever you want. Returning the emperor is like dough." I don't know if he did it on purpose, but his voice was really loud.Liu Bei's expression turned slightly ugly upon hearing this, but he didn't say anything.

"Yuan Tan colluded with Xianbei, and the soldiers and civilians of Youzhou were very disappointed with him. Now they have lost the support of the people. I'm afraid it will be difficult to gain a foothold in Youzhou. Mr. Zizhong met Yuan Tan a few days ago from the Jingxiang Navy to Youzhou by sea. His situation is very bad. There are only less than [-] troops left. Dissatisfied with his actions, Qian Shao and Zhang Jai have defected to Cao Cao one after another. Although Guo Tu and Ju Shou Tian Feng are still helping, they have no generals. It’s only a matter of time before you lose.” Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Zhuge Liang quickly changed the subject.

"Mr. Zizhong has been to Youzhou?" Everyone was very surprised when they heard the words. At this time, Mi Zhu also smiled and said: "Zhu took a sea boat from Donglai to the sea and landed in Liaodong. Finally, he saw Yuan Tan. With armor weapons , and exchanged him for some war horses."

"So that's how it is!" Everyone suddenly realized. "How much did you change?" Zhang Fei asked eagerly.

"Not many, just two thousand horses." Mi Zhu laughed.Everyone knows that Yuan Tan himself is quite nervous now, and it is unrealistic to get more war horses from him.The states under Liu Bei's command, namely Xuzhou and Jingzhou, also have established cavalry, namely the White Horse Yicong and Fengyun Cavalry.Among them, Baima Yicong had more than 2 horses and more than 4 cavalry, as did the Fengyun Cavalry.It's just that among the more than [-] war horses, more than [-] are Shandong horses.Among the various war horses of the Han Dynasty, the performance of Shandong horses is far inferior to that of Xiliang horses, Bingzhou horses, and even Liaodong horses. Therefore, Liu Bei Group's desire for good horses is quite strong now.

Just because Yuan Tan can get the war horse, he can't let him die so quickly. This is the consensus of everyone present.At this time, Liu Bei said again: "The matter in Liaodong is already like this. I invite you here today to discuss the next stage. I don't know what you think, what should we do in the next one or two years?"

"Take Xichuan, or Hanzhong!" Zhao Feng was the first to clearly express his attitude.

"That's right, how can we march into Guanzhong without taking Xichuan?" Zhuge Liang also nodded in agreement.Due to Zhao Feng's reason, the Longzhong pair had no chance to come out, but the strategic significance of the Xichuan important place is still very obvious.Everyone here who has a little foresight agrees.

"Right now, Wuguan is in the hands of our army, and we can also enter Guanzhong by this way. Under such circumstances, do we still need to enter Xichuan?" General Liu Pan of Zhendong asked with some doubts.As the hero who captured Wuguan, he didn't want his original efforts to be in vain.

"Although it is possible to enter Guanzhong from Wuguan, the road is rugged and narrow, which is quite inconvenient. Moreover, the Qingni pass is also a dangerous pass, which is very unchanged. If we can march from Hanzhong, there are still several valley roads on Qishan Avenue, and the defenders It must be impossible to defend against." Zhuge Liang is most familiar with the terrain in Guanzhong, and he explained it in detail at the moment.

"So it is!" Liu Pan finally understood.However, after Liu Bei listened to everyone's proposal to take Chuan, he was a little silent.

"My lord, what are you worried about?" Seeing that Liu Bei was not very excited, Jian Yong, who was the best at observing words and expressions, also asked.

"Ah!" Liu Bei sighed, and then he said: "Zhang Lunai in Hanzhong is a monster, and he also committed a crime against Shangyong before. If he invaded Hanzhong, he would have nothing to do. However, Liu Zhang in Yizhou was also a member of the Han family. At that time, his father recognized me as a nephew, and he was kind to my brother. Liu Jiyu not only refused to help Cao Cao to send troops when two people came to attack me in Jingzhou, but also helped me to quell the Nanman and Hanzhong troops. He was kind to me .Bei has always treated people with benevolence and righteousness, but now he does not repay favors, but raises troops to invade his borders. How do you ask Bei to face the people of the world?"

"This?" Everyone was a little speechless.In fact, it would be a little unkind to send troops to fight Xichuan now.Zhao Feng thought about it carefully. In history, Liu Bei also practiced benevolence and righteousness in Jiameng Pass, and he dared to turn against Liu Zhang after a year.Even so, there was still considerable resistance when marching into Chengdu.If he fought so openly now, it would be strange if there were no enemies in Sichuan.The road to Shu is difficult, if Liu Zhang sticks to it, he will be like a tortoise with an iron shell.

After thinking for a while, Zhuge Liang was the first to say: "Since my lord has treated people with kindness and righteousness, it may not be appropriate to attack Xichuan at this time. In my opinion, I might as well capture Hanzhong first and connect with Shangyong. As for the matter of Xichuan, I will play it by ear in the future." .”

Zhuge Liang's meaning is very clear, that is, if it is inconvenient to take Xichuan now, at least Hanzhong must be taken first.Once Hanzhong is taken, a huge encirclement net can be formed, wrapping Xichuan in the center.At that time, no matter how much Liu Zhang jumps, he will not be able to turn the big waves.

Such a strategy can still be accepted by Liu Bei, and it can also convince the people of the world.Nodding his head, Liu Bei also agreed: "Since that's the case, then I'll go to Hanzhong first."

"It's just that the road in Hanzhong is rough, easy to defend and difficult to attack. If you send troops through Shangyong, once Zhang Lu holds the pass, it may be difficult to attack!" Just after deciding on the strategy of taking Hanzhong first, Liu Bei immediately had a headache about how to march.There are many dangerous passes in the land of Liangchuan, and there are many checkpoints where thousands of people can be stationed to make tens of thousands of troops helpless. It is definitely very strenuous to take Hanzhong by force.

At this time, it was Zhao Feng's turn to act. He had already planned how to capture Hanzhong for a long time, so he smiled and said: "My lord, why don't you ask Liu Jiyu from Yizhou to send a team from Yizhou to attack Hanzhong from Jiameng Pass? Sending troops from Shangyong to Xicheng, under attack from both sides, Zhang Lu must not be able to look at each other from head to tail."

"That's a very good statement!" Liu Bei also felt that doing so would be a little more certain, and asked immediately, "Since that's the case, what is your plan to connect with Xichuan and borrow Liu Jiyu?"

"The Duke of Shu once helped us defend against Zhang Lu and the Nanman. My lord can thank you in the name of sending a eloquent eloquent envoy to Sichuan to meet Liu Jiyu with a gift. Thank you first, and then discuss the matter of making excuses." .” Zhuge Liang thought for a while.

"That's very good, Kong Ming. I will order you as an envoy to take my handwritten letter to Chengdu to meet Liu Jiyu. I hope he will remember the love of the same clan and help me exterminate Zhang Lu." Liu Bei thought for a while and quickly made a decision.

"My lord, if you want to take Hanzhong, you must march from Jingzhou. Although Zhang Lu in Hanzhong has no generals, you still need to beware of Cao Cao's troops in Guanzhong." Pang Tong reminded suddenly.

"That's right, Yan Liangwen Chou in Guanzhong is a powerful general in the world, and he can't be easily compared to him." Liu Bei nodded and said.Although they have never been in court with the two, they are both ranked among the four court pillars in Hebei, and the strength of Zhang Jai and Gao Lan is already impressive.Changed to Yan Liangwen Chou, who ranked even higher, Liu Bei had to treat it with caution.

"My lord, don't worry. No matter how brave Yan Liangwen Chou is, he will never be braver than Lu Bu in the past. Moreover, Guanzhong and Hanzhong are separated by many mountains. If Yan Liangwen Chou wants to intervene, it is not easy. If the lord is worried, you can ask the second general to personally Lead the troops out of Xiangyang to attack the west city. The two generals are both wise and brave, enough to rival Yan Liang, Wen Chou!" Lu Su also said slowly at this time.

"That's right, the second brother is out, why be afraid of being ugly!" Liu Bei was not a person who lacked self-confidence, so he nodded and agreed to Lu Su's suggestion.

"The second general led the army out of Xiangyang and attacked the west city from the Han River. And once Liu Jiyu agreed to borrow the way, which general should go to the Jiameng Pass?" I am too confident in my persuasion ability, and have already directly discussed the issue of marching.

"That's it!" Liu Bei also tapped his forehead lightly when he heard the words, feeling quite a headache.It's not like he doesn't know how arrogant his second brother is.It is really difficult to find someone who has a tacit understanding as his partner.At the same time, all the generals looked at Liu Bei with expectant eyes. There is no other reason. Apart from this battle in the short term, I am afraid that there will be no other battles to fight. If you want to make contributions as soon as possible!

"Bo Tao, I'll let you lead the army through Jiameng Pass and help my second brother pacify Hanzhong!" Liu Bei thought for a while, and found Zhao Feng, who had a tacit understanding with Guan Yu's partner, to take care of this matter.The two played Yuzhou and Jingzhou twice, and the tacit understanding should not be a problem.

Liu Bei was very efficient in handling the affairs. After finalizing the decision, Zhuge Liang immediately returned to Jingzhou, and then went to Xichuan to meet Liu Zhang to discuss the appropriateness of marching into the army.

(End of this chapter)