Shu Han Confucian General of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 220 Surrender?

"What advantage?" As soon as Lu Su finished speaking, Zhang Fei, who was the most impatient, rushed to ask.

"First of all, it is food. The states under the Lord's rule have received a lot of food this year. Even if Jingyang and Yangjiao are the three states, the food is enough to support the 30 Northern Expeditionary Army for a year. And a year later, new food has been harvested. Moreover, our army and navy are sharp, and transporting food is far faster and more convenient than land. In the same way, although Cao Cao has a large number of soldiers and horses, he cannot mobilize too many troops and horses at once because of the rations of the army!" Lu Su said carefully road.

"So that's it!" Everyone is an expert, knowing that when a large army is stationed, the consumption of food and grass during the battle is completely two concepts, and the consumption rate of the latter is at least twice as fast as the former.At this moment, Zhao Feng frowned and said, "Although this is the case, Cao Cao's strength is strong. I'm afraid it's unrealistic to defeat him in one fell swoop, right?"

"Of course, the purpose of this Northern Expedition is only to seize the Central Plains, and it is best to drive Cao Cao back to Hebei and Guanzhong in one fell swoop!" Lu Su said carefully.

"Zijing can speak in detail!" Guan Yu signaled Lu Su to speak in more detail.Lu Su didn't give a shit, and said directly: "Our cavalry army is not as good as Cao Cao, and it is very disadvantageous to fight on the plains. But our navy is sharp, but it is far better than Cao Cao. The more than [-] Cao troops in Yanzhou rely on Yanzhou for supplies. There is absolutely not enough food and grass, and we must mobilize food and grass from Hebei and even Guanzhong. Therefore, once the war starts, our army will use the Jingxiang Navy to cut off the transportation of the Yellow River, so that Cao Cao cannot replenish his army food, and finally the morale of the army is confused, thus defeating him in one fell swoop !"

"If I can occupy Yanzhou, plus the previous Qingzhou and Yuzhou, I can easily occupy the Central Plains. Moreover, Yanzhou is the place where Cao Cao made his fortune. If we can occupy Yanzhou, it will deal a great blow to Cao Cao's military morale. In addition, Yanzhou can produce horses, and occupying Yanzhou can also make up for the shortage of war horses." Lu Su continued to introduce.

"It's so good!" Everyone knew that among the three points mentioned by Lu Su, the first two points were fine, and the third point was a bit of a spoof.Although Yanzhou and Qingzhou also produce horses in the Central Plains, Shandong horses are inferior to Liaodong horses and Bingzhou horses in terms of size and performance. This advantage is really better than nothing.

It has to be admitted that although Zhao Feng has prepared for a rainy day to raise war horses, because there is no stable horse production area, the problem of war horses has always troubled Liu Bei.Being able to occupy Yanzhou is equivalent to occupying the horse-producing area in the Central Plains. This temptation is still great.However, as a time traveler, Zhao Feng was really not satisfied with only this little achievement, so he immediately remonstrated: "My lord, why don't you march into Xiliang and get the Xiliang horse?"

"Xiliang?" Liu Bei was stunned for a moment when he heard the words. At this time, Pang Tong on the side had already said: "If you want to march to Xiliang, you must march from Yizhou or Hanzhong. It's just that these two places are tentatively decided, and people's hearts are not stable. It is not suitable to be good at using weapons. I have been planning for a long time, and I feel that this Northern Expedition, Yizhou does not need to send troops, but only needs to send food!"

Damn, you want me to watch a play?Pang Tong's words made Zhao Feng very upset.With a soft snort, Zhao Feng said: "Although Yizhou is initially determined, a hundred thousand troops can still be brought out. If we can take advantage of the fierce battle between the lord and Cao Cao in the Central Plains, Longxi and Guanzhong will definitely be empty. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have this golden opportunity to pacify Xiliang in one fell swoop?"

"There are only [-] Sichuan troops, I'm afraid they are not enough to compete with Han Sui and Xia Houyuan's generation!" Pang Tong pondered.Zhao Feng frowned when he heard this. Pang Tong always liked to take risks, and it was not his style to act so cautiously.Looking for excuses again and again, the purpose seems to be no other reason than to exclude himself from this Northern Expedition.

Although he knew that Pang Tong was making a lot of noise now, it was the first time he was provoked face to face. Zhao Feng frowned slightly, and was about to speak when he saw Jian Yong walking in in a hurry with a strange expression on his face. He still handed Liu Bei a letter. letter.

"My lord, please read this letter." Jian Yong's words were full of disbelief.Liu Bei just took it apart and took a look, his face changed slightly.After hastily reading it, Liu Bei was silent for a long time, and this time he handed it to Mi Zhu and said, "Zi Zhong, this is Zi Fang's letter!"

"What?" Mi Zhu was shocked when he heard the words, the hand that took the letter had already started to tremble, and after suppressing his excitement to read it, Mi Zhu also heaved a sigh of relief, and then said: "My lord, this is indeed Zifang's handwriting. "

"What is this guy talking about?" Zhang Fei was the most anxious, and asked quickly.Liu Bei shook his head, and then said: "The letter was written by Zifang to Xianhe. He said that he knew that he had committed a serious crime and dared not write to Zizhong. He could only speak through Xianhe. Zifang told me, Cao Cao is about to go to Liaodong to attack Yuan Tan, but the defense of the Central Plains is empty. He was appointed as the prefect of Xuchang, and he is willing to dedicate Xuchang to help our army enter the Central Plains! After this is done, just ask me to save his life, and don't implicate the Mi family. !"

"What?" Everyone was really surprised this time.Mi Fang's rebellion six years ago caused Liu Bei to suffer a huge loss.Now he was going to go anyway, and he still wanted to dedicate the important city of Xuchang. The temptation was not small. For a while, the entire meeting hall was silent.

Xuchang is not only the former capital, but also guards the main route from Yuzhou to Yanzhou.If you enter Yanzhou from Taishan County or Liang County, you need to cross Mount Tai or Woniu Mountain, and the difficulty of marching will be greatly increased. Therefore, since ancient times, it has been said that those who win Xuchang get the Central Plains.If Mi Fang can offer Xuchang, although Xiangcheng is separated from Runan, the walls of Xiangcheng are low and it is not difficult to fight.

Moreover, Cao Cao had just moved his capital for more than a year. If Xuchang was captured at this moment, the onlookers would naturally think that the reason why Cao Cao moved his capital was simply because he couldn't stand Liu Bei, so he had to give up Xuchang.The blow to the morale of Cao Jun's army is even more immeasurable.But now the question is coming, that is, is Mi Fang's rebellion this time for real, or is it Cao Cao's trick to lure the enemy?No one dares to play this guarantee.If you make a mistake, you will fall into the jeopardy of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and no one dares to take this responsibility.After a while, everyone still looked at Liu Bei, waiting for him to make up his mind.

Liu Bei's frown, which had been tightly frowned, suddenly relaxed.Everyone knew at a glance that Lao Liu had figured out something.Sure enough, Liu Bei said: "I was thinking, with Zifang's talent, even if he intends to sacrifice Xuchang, can Cao Cao let him succeed?"

Youdao thinks about the problem from a different angle. As soon as Liu Bei said this, everyone's heads became clearer.Regardless of whether Mi Fang's surrender is true or not, even if he really intends to surrender, Cao Cao will probably make a fuss about his mediocre intelligence.

"Having said that, wouldn't it be better if we could win Xuchang in one fell swoop?" Pang Tong had an extraordinary enthusiasm for winning Xuchang, which was also the common wish of all Jingxiang scholars.Everyone couldn't help frowning when they heard the words, and finally Zhao Feng said: "My lord, in fact, if Yanzhou can be taken, the isolated city of Xuchang will be taken sooner or later. Our army still implements the strategy of cutting off the food roads and taking Cao Cao's Yanzhou. That's right."

Liu Bei nodded, and suddenly saw Zhuge Liang shaking his feather fan with a very leisurely expression. Knowing Zhuge Liang's abilities, he immediately asked, "Kong Ming, what's your plan?"

"My lord, in fact, Mi Zifang's letter has revealed flaws!" Zhuge Liang said with a smile, his tone very affirmative.

"Kong Ming, what are you talking about?" Pang Tong thought for a while, and then remembered something.

"Look, my lord, Zifang said that Cao Cao is going to conquer Yuan Tan, so the defense of the Central Plains is empty. But Yuan Tan is entrenched in Liaodong, with less than [-] soldiers, and the soldiers from Hebei alone are enough to defeat him. Why does Cao Cao go out in person?" Zhuge Liang was confident. Very authentic.When everyone heard the words, they suddenly woke up.

"That's true, then Kong Ming, in your opinion, what should we do?" Hearing what Zhuge Liang said, Liu Bei's brain came alive, and he asked quickly.

"Cao Cao used this as a bait to lure the lord's army to Xuchang. Xuchang is located in the plains. Once the lord's army goes deep alone, Cao Cao can use his cavalry to cut off the way back and force the lord to fight with him. In this case, why don't we do the opposite? How to do it? Take advantage of Cao Cao’s army gathering in the Central Plains, Guanlong and Xiliang are empty, first take the land of Xiliang in one fell swoop, and when Cao Cao’s army is short of supplies, fight against him in Xuchang!” Zhuge Liang said carefully.

"Good plan!" Liu Bei was also moved when he heard the words.At this time, Pang Tong frowned and said: "Although that is the case, how can we conquer Guanlong and Xiliang in one fell swoop? Besides," Pang Tong paused at this point, and then said: "Xiliang is not ruled by the lord. Excuse me, the Ma family is very powerful there. Even if we take Xiliang, it will be in vain to make wedding dresses for others, and it will be of no use to our army!"

Pang Tong's words are not unreasonable, Xiliang is different from other places, even if Liu Bei can pacify Xiliang in one fell swoop, most of the benefits can only go to Ma Teng.Moreover, Ma Chao's character is rebellious, coupled with his high prestige in Xiliang, it doesn't seem like a good idea for him to occupy Xiliang.

Liu Bei couldn't help hesitating when he heard the words, but then he said firmly: "Brother Shoucheng and I are serving together in order to hunt for thieves. Now that he is in trouble, how can I just sit idly by? Besides, after taking Xiliang, Brother Shoucheng Even if you can't help in the battle, you can always contain Cao Jun in Guanzhong!" Once he said this, Pang Tong couldn't persuade him anymore.

"Furthermore, Zilong has already been engaged to Miss Ma's family, so he can be regarded as Xiliang's son-in-law, so this matter can't be regarded as having nothing to do with us!" Liu Bei said again, Zhao Feng couldn't help admiring Liu Bei when he heard this. political sleight of hand.At this time, Fazheng took the initiative to come out and said: "Master, Fazheng is not talented. He has been in Guanlong for a long time. I am willing to march to Xiliang to do the work of dogs and horses."

No one dislikes Fengfengguangguang returning to his hometown, and Fazheng is no exception.Although Liu Bei nodded with a smile when he heard this, he still looked at Zhao Feng with a questioning expression in his eyes.

"My lord, if we get Fa Xiaozhi's help, Xiliang will be pacified as soon as possible!" Zhao Feng said without hesitation.Today is different from the past, Xichuan has just been pacified not long ago, and people's hearts have not yet completely settled down.Even if it is the Northern Expedition, the two big leaders Zhao Feng and Zhuge Liang cannot all be dispatched, one must stay to appease the place.With Fazheng making suggestions, Zhuge Liang can free up his hands to deal with logistics.Liu Bei was not surprised when he heard the words. He nodded and said, "Since that's the case, Xiaozhi, you can go back to Xichuan with Bo Tao. And Meng Qi, let him go with him right away!"

Since Ma Chao did not formally defect to Liu Bei, he was not qualified to participate in such a large strategic meeting.Of course, with his IQ, it is estimated that even if he participated, he would not be able to give any useful suggestions.At this time Liu Bei said: "I will write a letter to reply to Zifang immediately, saying that I will send troops north to Xuchang. After Bo Tao and Kong Ming return to Xichuan, they will send troops to Xiliang immediately. After Meng Qi pacifies Xiliang, Cao Cao will definitely send troops west. , I will fight against Xuchang again!"

"No!" Zhao Feng and Zhuge Liang hurriedly stood up and responded.A few days later, Zhao Feng and Zhuge Liang returned to Xichuan after a hasty meeting with his wife and children.Fazheng and Ma Chao went to Xichuan with them.

(End of this chapter)