Mi Han

Chapter 407
On October 25, the second year of Zhangwu in the Han Dynasty, outside Chengdu.

Today is the day when Zhuge Liang vowed to march south.

Because of today's importance to the great man, so early in the morning today, many ministers and ministers gathered outside the city of Chengdu.

It is already winter at the end of October. Due to the abundance of moisture in the air, Chengdu's winter has a kind of chill down to the bone.

But this kind of coldness did not stop all the ministers and ministers in Chengdu, and even the prince Liu Chan, who used to live in the palace, came outside the city to send Zhuge Liang respectfully.

With Zhuge Liang's character of not liking false fame, of course he would not order the ministers to send him off outside the city today.

Many ministers and princes Liu Chan gathered outside the city today to see Zhuge Liang off. This was their spontaneous action, which shows Zhuge Liang's position in their hearts.

It's just that although many ministers wanted to come to Zhuge Liang's side and say a few auspicious words in front of him, their goals could not be achieved for a while.

Because Zhuge Liang is currently talking with Prince Liu Chan.

Liu Chan held Zhuge Liang's hand tightly, as if he had a thousand words to say.

For today's expedition, Zhuge Liang specially put on a fine armor.

Zhuge Liang was eight feet tall, and his appearance was particularly majestic, but when Zhuge Liang put on a suit of fine armor, he looked even more heroic, like a general who descended from the sky.

But even so, Liu Chan still couldn't hide his worry about Zhuge Liang.

Liu Chan gave a signal with his eyes, and Huang Hao, the servant next to him, immediately took a sword and put it in front of the two of them.

Then Liu Chan let go of Zhuge Liang's hands temporarily, took the sword from Huang Hao's hand, and handed him to Zhuge Liang's hand with a face of respect.

"The prime minister is about to go to war, and there is no good strategy to help the prime minister succeed.

However, the sword is the weapon of a gentleman, and I only hope that the prime minister can accept Gu's close-fitting saber, and Gu uses the sword to wish the prime minister a victory and wipe out the rebellion. "

The sword has a very special meaning in the hearts of ancient scholars, because of its meaning, it is often given as a gift.

In history, there are also precedents in which the king gave the sword to the minister for the purpose of blessing when the minister went to war.

Therefore, Liu Chan's current behavior fell into Zhuge Liang's eyes, which made the corners of his mouth reveal a lot of smiles.

The prince may be lacking in intelligence and strategy, but his quality is good.

In order not to worry Liu Chan, Zhuge Liang did not refuse Liu Chan's kindness.

After receiving the sword presented by Liu Chan with both hands, Zhuge Liang looked at Liu Chan with a sad face, and he said with relief:
"Prince, don't worry. I have already arranged the internal affairs of the court a few days ago. The crown prince only needs to listen to the advice of all the virtuous ministers, and then there will be no mistakes in the government of the great man."

Of course Zhuge Liang knew why Liu Chan was worried.

And after Liu Chan listened to Zhuge Liang's words, as expected, the melancholy on his face instantly eased a lot.

In fact, even if Zhuge Liang didn't make arrangements in advance before leaving Chengdu, the Han government would not make any major mistakes after he left.

Liu Bei is just sick.

But it was precisely for this reason that Liu Chan was very worried about Zhuge Liang's departure.

Zhuge Liang's presence means that there are still people who will cover for him, but if Zhuge Liang leaves, the probability of his making mistakes will increase greatly, and he will inevitably be reprimanded by Liu Bei at that time
It has to be said that no matter how Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang taught Liu Chan in the past, Liu Chan is still a child who has not grown up, especially in terms of his character.

After comforting Liu Chan, Zhuge Liang saw that it was getting late, so he bowed to Liu Chan and begged him to return to the city first.

After Liu Chan got the answer that made him feel at ease, he obeyed Zhuge Liang's request and turned back to Chengdu.

After Liu Chan returned to Chengdu, the other ministers gathered outside the city thought about going forward to say goodbye to Zhuge Liang one by one.

But how could Zhuge Liang let this kind of thing delay his expedition.

Therefore, before the ministers came forward, Zhuge Liang took the initiative to bow to the ministers in front, thanking them and letting them go back to the city first.

The ministers also knew why Zhuge Liang was like this, so even if they still had a lot to say to Zhuge Liang, they could only leave one by one in the end.

After all the ministers returned to Chengdu, Zhuge Liang carried the sword presented by Liu Chan and stepped into the chariot for the expedition.

The chariot that Zhuge Liang rode was the emperor's six horses.

This is the ride that Liu Bei bestowed upon Zhuge Liang a few days ago for his southern expedition.

Liu Bei's reward, on the one hand, reflects his love for Zhuge Liang, and on the other hand, it is also telling the world that Zhuge Liang's southern expedition is a personal expedition on behalf of the emperor.

This is very important, because it allows Zhuge Liang to have the same power as the emperor during the Southern Expedition.

When the time comes for the Southern Expedition, Zhuge Liang will either punish or reward, or fight or make peace, which is enough for Zhuge Liang's personal strategy to be fully utilized.

As Zhuge Liang's figure entered the chariot, the Five Thousand Liang Army, who had been prepared for a long time, set out in the direction of Nanzhong under Deng Ai's command.

This time, only the five thousand Liang army under the command of Deng Ai followed Zhuge Liang's southern expedition outside the city of Chengdu.

This was not due to Zhuge Liang's entrustment, but because most of the field troops inside and outside Chengdu had already followed Zhao Yunan.

So Zhuge Liang only needs to lead the five thousand Liang army and go all the way south to join forces with Zhao Yun.

Of course, although most of Chengdu's field army was taken away by Zhao Yun, Chengdu still has some elites, and Zhuge Liang could have brought this part of the elite south.

The reason why Zhuge Liang didn't do this is that there is not much food and grass in Yizhou at present.

Under such circumstances, due to various considerations, it was impossible for Zhuge Liang to bring too many troops to the south.

When Zhuge Liang got into the chariot, he saw a person sitting upright waiting for him.

This person is the Great Hanwei General - Yu Jin.

After the end of the Public Security War, Yu Jin followed Liu Bei back to Chengdu.

After returning to Chengdu, even though Liu Bei rewarded Jin from time to time, Yu Jin, because of his status as a surrendered general, has always seemed to be very law-abiding in Chengdu.

Because of this, even though there were several big disturbances in Chengdu before, Yu Jin was never seen.

But during the Southern Expedition, both Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang thought of him at the same time.

Yu Jin's reputation is not very good, but he still has some abilities. It is a good idea to bring him with him to serve as a military counselor.

What's more, fame, wealth, Liu Bei has never been stingy with ban, so he can't raise an idler for nothing.

Even Xu Jing, who can only talk about scriptures and Taoism, Liu Bei will often take him with him when he goes out to fight, in order to squeeze out every trace of Xu Jing's value, let alone such a famous general as Yu Jin.

Liu Bei, who started from scratch, is a budget-conscious emperor.

After Yu Jin saw Zhuge Liang enter the chariot, some apprehension appeared on his face.

He wasn't worried that Zhuge Liang would be unfavorable to him, after all, in the past, both Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang treated him well.

The reason why Yu Jin felt uneasy was because he felt ashamed after seeing Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang already had a great reputation in the world, and he was known as "Guan Zhong of the present age". Even Cao Cao praised Zhuge Liang's political skills.

Cao Cao has a problem, that is, he likes to praise whoever has suffered a loss.

So after the Battle of Hanzhong, he almost praised Zhuge Liang and Fazheng to the sky.

And Zhuge Liang's most admired by the world is his unswerving character.

It is precisely this kind of character that makes Yu Jin feel ashamed of himself uncontrollably after seeing Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang couldn't hide Yu Jin's discomfort, Zhuge Liang just smiled gently at him in the face of Jin's discomfort.

He was the one who invited Yu Jin to get on the chariot. After all, with Yu Jin's nominal status, he was worthy of being on the chariot with him.

Zhuge Liang's gentle smile calmed Yu Jin's uneasy heart a lot.

After meeting each other with Yu Jin, Zhuge Liang came to a place in the chariot and sat down, then picked up the map on the case in front of him and looked at it.

Zhuge Liang looked at the map of Nanzhong.

Nanzhong is a collective name for the southern part of Yizhou. According to the division of political regions, Nanzhong is mainly divided into four counties.

These four counties are: Yuexi County, Zangke County, Yizhou County, and Yongchang County.

The total area of ​​the four counties occupies almost half of the territory of Yizhou.

However, since the four counties of Nanzhong were still in an undeveloped state at the time, no matter whether it was the father and son of Mu Liu in Yizhou or Liu Bei, they all adopted methods of appeasing the four counties of Nanzhong.

Among the many means of appeasement, one very important point is Liu Bei's acknowledgment of "Southern autonomy".

Nanren self-government refers to the important positions in the four counties of Nanzhong, and even the post of prefect. Liu Bei appointed local tyrants in Nanzhong to hold them.

It is precisely because Liu Bei admitted this that in the past, the four counties of Nanzhong generally maintained a state of obedience.

The self-government of the southerners was an expedient measure adopted by Liu Bei at the beginning. After all, Liu Bei's power was in the stage of outward expansion, and there was really no need to waste energy on the four counties of Nanzhong.

But the disadvantage of this is obvious.

Nanzhong Haoqiang already has a strong influence in this county.

But now the important positions in the four counties of Nanzhong are all in the hands of the tyrants of the county, which has led to the change of the tyrants of the four counties of Nanzhong to the princes of the separatist side.

The four counties in Nanzhong are currently still the land of the Dahan in name, but in fact the Dahan has very little control over the four counties.

Under such circumstances, Zhuge Liang knew that once the news of his southern expedition spread to the four counties of Nanzhong, then in order to protect themselves, the local tyrants in the four counties of Nanzhong would definitely rebel against the county.

Zhuge Liang had expected this, so after reading the map of the four Nanzhong counties, he began to think about the corresponding countermeasures.

The strength of a single county in the four counties of Nanzhong is not strong, but if the four counties are united together, the total strength of the Nanzhong rebels is very likely to reach about [-].

And Zhuge Liang knew that even if he gathered Zhao Yun's army, the total force he used to counter the rebellion would probably be around [-].

However, although the number of armies is similar, the Nanzhong rebels occupy a favorable location. Under such circumstances, the Nanzhong rebels will have a great advantage.

When Zhuge Liang was thinking, he remembered the strategy that Mi Yang had offered him in the letter before.

Mi Yang suggested that Zhuge Liang should divide the four counties of Nanzhong, and try not to let them unite as one, so that they can be defeated individually.

It can be said that Mi Yang's strategy coincides with what Zhuge Liang had planned in his mind before.

But how to do this in detail depends on Zhuge Liang's strategy. After all, Mi Yang did not visit the Nanzhong battlefield in person.

When Zhuge Liang was thinking, he noticed that Yu Jin was starting to fidget again, so he asked Yu Jin in a gentle voice:

"Wen Ze has been in battle for a long time, and he is called a famous general. Now our army is about to march south. If you don't know Wen, what can you teach me?"

Zhuge Liang's sudden question startled Yu Jin, who was already nervous.

But Zhuge Liang's gentle attitude made Yu Jin's mood calm down again.

Compared with Mi Yang's method of asking him to offer advice at the beginning, Zhuge Liang's question is very humble in terms of calculation.

After his emotions stabilized, Yu Jin couldn't answer Zhuge Liang's question for a while.

Of course Yu Jin knew Zhuge Liang's purpose for bringing him by his side. Long before today, Yu Jin had made up some relevant information about Nanzhong.

But after gaining some understanding of Nanzhong, Yu Jin felt that this Southern Expedition was not easy to fight.

Although in terms of strength and the fear of the world, the rebels in Nanzhong are far inferior to the Wei army, let alone the Wu army.

But as a veteran general, Yu Jin understood a truth, that is, attacking remote enemies is sometimes more difficult than attacking powerful enemies.

Since it will attack a powerful enemy, then one's own side must have made corresponding preparations, but sometimes it is not the case when attacking a remote enemy.

Take this Southern Expedition as an example. On the surface, the total strength of the rebels in Nanzhong is about [-], which does not seem to be many.

But the [-] rebels were scattered among the mountains in Nanzhong, relying on the steep terrain.

Under such circumstances, the four counties of Nanzhong are like a bottomless quagmire. Even if one's own army raises its hard fists to fight towards the quagmire, what effect can this achieve?

Just like Shanyue in Jiangdong, they almost never defeated Wu Jun in head-to-head battles.

But they have always been Wu Jun's confidantes, because Shanyue dragged Wu Jun into the quagmire they were in.

In this way, Wu Jun will become more and more exhausted as he fights, but Shanyue will become more tenacious as he fights.

Yu Jin is a good veteran general, but Wu Jun used to have such famous generals as Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, Lu Su, etc. They couldn't solve the problem, and Yu Jin really didn't have a good solution for a while.

After thinking about it in every possible way, Yu Jin could only sigh, and said to Zhuge Liang ashamedly: "Jin is incompetent, and there is no clever plan to help the prime minister."

Facing Yu Jin's confession, Zhuge Liang just smiled and waved his hands to let Yu Jin not care too much.

The reason why he asked Yu Jin was really because he wanted Yu Jin to come up with a good plan for him, but if Yu Jin couldn't think of one, then Zhuge Liang wouldn't be so disappointed.

All he wants is to check for gaps and fill in gaps.

Yu Jin couldn't think of it, but it didn't mean he didn't have a plan in mind.

Although Zisheng's strategy is good, it still has shortcomings.

Thinking of this, eight words gradually appeared in Zhuge Liang's heart, and those eight words were:
"Divide and dissolve, gather and annihilate."

(End of this chapter)