Summoning the Peak of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 2520 The Three Kingdoms of Shu, Sui and Qin Divide Tang

Chapter 2516: Shu, Sui, Qin and Three Kingdoms Divided into Tang

Li Bai once said in "The Road to Shu is Difficult": The road to Shu is as difficult as going to the blue sky.

And Yangping Pass is the first difficulty in entering Shu.

Different from ancient passes such as Hangu Pass and Wuguan, Yangping Pass is actually a new pass.

According to the "Three Kingdoms Chronicles of Emperor Wudi", when Cao Cao conquered Zhang Lu in July of the 20th year of Jian'an (215 AD), Zhang Lu's original intention was to withdraw troops, seal the warehouse, dedicate the city and surrender, but Zhang Lu's younger brother Zhang Wei and his generals strongly opposed it. .

Under pressure, Zhang Lu ordered Zhang Wei and others to "build a city on Hengshan for more than ten miles" and guard "Yangping Pass".Cao Cao was unable to attack this place for a long time, so he led his troops back.

This is the first record of Yangping Pass in historical materials.

Zhang Lu has never been the prefect of Hanzhong in this life, so Yangping Pass was naturally not built by him, but by Li Xiaogong.

When Dong Zhuo died, Yang Jian was in a hurry to take power, but once he had the military and political power in his hands, Li Xiaogong of Hanzhong must be the first to look at.

Yang Jian was so powerful that Li Xiaogong didn't dare to fight against him, so he could only build a new pass between the two mountains at the junction of Sanguan and Anyang, which is Pingyang Pass, while Yang Jian was anxious to eliminate dissidents and had no time for him.

The Pingyang Pass built by Li Xiaogong is surrounded by mountains on three sides and protected by water on two sides. The Qinling Mountains are on the north, the Daba Mountain and Micang Mountain are on the south, and the Jialing River passes by the town. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The first Pingyang Pass was actually very simple. After all, Li Xiaogong did not have so many resources to build the pass. It was not until Li Shimin expanded it several times that it formed the current scale.

Today, Pingyang Pass is about 2000 meters wide from north to south, and about 500 meters in circumference. There are three gates in the east, south, and west of the city, named Zhenjiang Gate, Dingjun Gate, and Gonghan Gate respectively.

Looking at the majestic Yangping Pass, Zhang Song, the envoy of the Kingdom of Shu, couldn't help being surprised.

Before coming to Yangping Pass, he felt that Yangping Pass was not even as good as Mianzhu Pass, let alone Jianmen Pass and Baishui Pass.

But after he came, he realized that the danger of Yangping Pass, even among Yizhou with many Xiongguan passes, is definitely among the top few existences.

According to Zhang Song's observation, among all the dangerous passes in Yizhou, only Jiange can stabilize Yangping Pass.

Now Zhang Song finally understands why Liu Yu is determined to win Yangpingguan.

To put it bluntly, this checkpoint will determine the ownership of Hanzhong.

Yangping Pass belongs to Shu, and Hanzhong belongs to Shu.

Yangpingguan belongs to Qin, and Hanzhong belongs to Qin.

Thinking of this, Zhang Song only felt the pressure on his body doubled. After all, for him, this mission must not fail. If he failed, he would have no face to continue to serve Liu Yu, so he could only apologize with death.

Zhang Song was a veteran of the three dynasties in the Kingdom of Shu. When Liu Yan was still alive, he was already in a high position. Later, when Liu Yu succeeded to the throne, he was also trusted.

But with the rise of Liu Ji, Liu Yu's situation became more and more difficult. A large number of Yizhou aristocratic families betrayed Liu Yu and joined Liu Ji's command instead.

Although Zhang Song persisted until the last moment, he still fell to Liu Ji and betrayed Liu Yu.

I thought this matter would end here, but I didn't expect Liu Yu to win a beautiful victory at the last moment, Xianyu turned around and completely replaced Liu Ji.

No one expected that such a situation would turn out, and the situation of those who betrayed Liu Yu before suddenly became embarrassing.

After all, no matter what reason they have, they have already betrayed the country Liu Yu.

But now that Liu Yu has returned as the king, how will he treat traitors like them?
Regarding this, all the traitors, including Zhang Song, were extremely moved and apprehensive.

Liu Yu was naturally extremely resentful towards these traitors. After all, he did not feel sorry for any of them, but even so, the other party still betrayed him. How could he have no resentment in his heart?

Originally, Liu Yu was planning to dismiss all those who betrayed him.

But if this is really the case, the officialdom of the Shu Kingdom will definitely undergo a major shake-up, and nearly one-half of the officials will be laid off. It will undoubtedly be a big earthquake for the Kingdom of Shu, and he doesn't have that many subordinates. officials to replace.

In the end, Liu Yu listened to Su Qin's consolation, decided to let go of the resentment in his heart, and chose to forgive these traitors. After all, who made it difficult for him to protect himself.

Liu Yu's generous forgiveness made traitors such as Zhang Song, Qiao Zhou, Gong Lu, Cheng Ji, Pang Xi, and Xu Jing ashamed, and they vowed never to rebel again, otherwise they would not die well.

Liu Yu naturally wouldn't believe in such a verbal oath. Since he can't do without these traitors for the time being, he can only use them even if he has a grudge. good.

Zhang Song was also one of the many Shu ministers who rebelled and surrendered again. Now Liu Yu ordered him to be an envoy to Yangping Pass, and entrusted such an important task to him, a rebel minister. What a new appointment.

If this fails, the entire Shu Kingdom will be in turmoil. Why does Zhang Song even return to the Shu Kingdom?
Therefore, for Zhang Song, the best way to go to Yangping Pass this time is to persuade Li Siyuan to surrender, and the second is to let Li Siyuan remain neutral, but once Li Siyuan surrenders to Qin, his end will only be a dead end.

"I hope this trip will go smoothly." Zhang Song sighed.

But after expressing his intention of coming, Zhang Song's heart skipped a beat after entering Yangping Pass and before entering Li Siyuan in front of the palace.

In front of the main hall was actually placed this big tripod, under the tripod was piled full of firewood, and inside the tripod was full of boiling oil.

"Is Li Siyuan under attack? Or has he turned to Daqin and is planning to cook me alive?"

Zhang Song murmured in his heart, but after the meeting, Li Siyuan's first words made him feel at ease.

"Is the Shu envoy here to die?" Li Siyuan asked coldly.

On the contrary, Zhang Song was relieved, he didn't kill him immediately, which meant that Li Siyuan hadn't turned to Daqin yet.

"No, the next time I came here, I came to discuss cooperation with the general. The two families will continue to fight against the tyranny of Qin." Zhang Song said calmly.

"Ha ha."

Li Siyuan sneered, and said coldly: "Shu and Tang are originally allies, and they have been inseparable for many years.

At the beginning Liu Ji dominated Yizhou, and Liu Yu was in decline. It was my lord who sent troops to Yizhou to solve the difficulties, and Liu Yu turned around now.

But how did Liu Yu repay me, Datang? "

"Uh, this..."

Even though Zhang Song was so eloquent, he was also stunned by Li Siyuan's words, and he didn't know how to refute for a while.

After all, it is true that Li Shimin sent charcoal to Liu Yuxue, but Liu Yu fell into trouble at the most difficult time of Tang State after Li Shimin's death.

What Liu Yu did was indeed unethical, but it was also true. After all, there is no friendship between countries, and some are just interests.

"The big cauldron outside the hall, you should have seen it when you came.

Liu Yu was ungrateful and tore up the covenant. Since Mr. Liu Yu came here on behalf of Liu Yu, if he couldn't give an explanation to this general, he would blame this general for his cruelty. " Li Siyuan said coldly.

Zhang Song's heart trembled when he heard the words, and then he excused Liu Yu with euphemistic words, and pushed the reason why Liu Yu tore up the covenant to Li Tang's internal instability. Hanzhong was in order to improve the defense line in the north of Yizhou, and it was a last resort for the overall situation of resisting Qin Dynasty.

Zhang Song's rhetoric, not to mention convincing Li Siyuan, even the generals present could not accept it, clamoring to throw Zhang Song into the cauldron.

Li Siyuan stared at Zhang Song coldly, and said indifferently: "Sir's explanation does not seem to satisfy us, and there is no need for us to continue talking. Come and send Mr. Zhang Song to the cauldron."

"promise."

Two big men from Kansai stepped forward, picked up Zhang Song and walked out of the hall, as if they were about to throw him into the cauldron and blow him up to death.

Zhang Song deliberately did not speak, just to see Li Siyuan's reaction, but until he was carried out of the hall, Li Siyuan did not respond.

This made Zhang Song realize that although Li Siyuan hadn't turned to Daqin yet, he also had the heart to surrender to Qin.

If he remained silent, he would really be boiled alive and regarded as Gui Qin's nomination certificate.

"Wait a minute, I have another word. After the general has heard it, it's not too late to kill me." Zhang Song struggled and shouted.

[Ding dong, Zhang Song's skill 'Slick Tongue' effect 1 activates;

Clever tongue: glib tongue, mostly possessed by people with outstanding eloquence, and different people have different effects.

Effect 1. After this plan is activated, it can reduce the opponent's intelligence by 1~3 points through verbal stimulation and according to the intelligence of the opponent.

Effect 2, if it hits the opponent's sore spot, it may also reduce the opponent's commander and force, and the range is between 1 and 2 points.

李嗣源：统帅98（+1），武力102（+4），智力94(+2)，政治98(+1)，魅力95；

The current effect of 'Smart Tongue' is 1, reducing Li Siyuan's intelligence by 2 points, and the current intelligence of Li Siyuan has dropped to 92;]

Hearing this, Li Siyuan's heart was inexplicably moved, and he immediately ordered someone to carry Zhang Song back.

Zhang Song, who temporarily saved his life, was also shocked into a cold sweat. He knew that the next negotiation was the most critical.

If Li Siyuan is not satisfied with the bargaining chips offered by the Kingdom of Shu, he may really surrender to Qin.

Zhang Song, who was sweating profusely from the boiling oil, wiped the sweat stains on his forehead and said, "General Li Siyuan, can we talk alone?"

Obviously, it was not convenient for him to say what he said next in public.

Li Siyuan's heart moved, and after a little thought, he brought Zhang Song to the back hall.

"What do you want to say?" Li Siyuan said lightly.

Zhang Song cupped his hands and said: "As long as the general can raise the pass and return to the Han, my lord is willing to show the emperor, enfeoff the general as the king of Longxi, and enfeoff the land as Longxi County, and retain the military power of the king. Those Tang troops who are unwilling to surrender will also belong to the king. under the account."

Hearing this, Li Siyuan's pupils shrank suddenly. He knew the importance of Yangping Pass, but he was still surprised by Liu Yu's big hand.

Make him king and retain military power?

No wonder what Zhang Song said was cooperation, not persuasion. Liu Yu wanted to preserve his independence, enfeoffing him as the Kingdom of Shu, no, it was the first vassal state of the Southern Han Dynasty.

To be honest, Li Siyuan is very excited at the moment, the ambition that has been hidden by him is now also aroused by Liu Yu.

Although Li Siyuan was moved, he did not agree directly, but said lightly: "Liu Yu has already broken his promise once, do you think this general will believe the promise he made?"

Zhang Song was overjoyed, Li Siyuan didn't directly refuse, which meant that he was already moved, but the two sides didn't have a new foundation yet.
"The military advisor is right. Li Siyuan really has ambitions, but he has been suppressed by Li Shimin and never dared to show it." Zhang Song thought to himself.

Su Qin was very accurate in seeing people. He not only saw that Li Siyuan had ambitions, but also that Li Keyong, Yu Wentai, Ji Fa and others were all ambitious. It was just that Li Shimin was there before, and these people did not dare to show their ambitions.

It can also be seen from this that Li Shimin is indeed much stronger than Dong Zhuo. He can not only suppress the ambitious people under him, but also drive them. On the other hand, Dong Zhuo can't suppress Yang Jian and Li Yuan.

"General, there is no need to be suspicious. My lord also knows that he has wronged Li Tang this time, so he wants to make up for the debt he owed Li Tang on the general."

As he said that, Zhang Song actually took out an imperial decree from his sleeve, opened his mouth and pointed to the seal printed on it, and said: "This thing should be enough to prove the sincerity of my lord."

Li Siyuan quickly took it, and browsed through ten lines at a glance. After reading it, he closed his eyes and meditated, weighing the pros and cons.

Liu Yu was really sincere this time.

Li Siyuan didn't have many factions, apart from tens of thousands of defenders, there was only one Yangping Pass, among which Yangping Pass was the most valuable.

If it wasn't for the period when the Qin army was pressing down on the border and Liu Yu failed to completely take down Hanzhong, Yangping Pass alone would obviously not be worth Liu Yu's high price.

(End of this chapter)