Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

"Three years of Northern Expedition?"

On December [-]th, Liu Bei received Zhuge Liang and Shen Chen in the side hall in the West Hall of Xiangyang Imperial Palace.

Now under the three-provincial system, the national government affairs are often resolved at the Shangshutai, Zhongshujian, and Menxia Temple. Only when you really can't get an idea do you go to Liu Bei.

So Liu Bei is still relatively free every day. Apart from looking at the official documents that the three provinces and Zhuge Liang have written, he is often concerned about their own military situation and waiting for the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains.

As the days passed day by day, Liu Bei felt that his health was getting worse, no matter whether he was an emperor, a general, or a talented scholar or a beautiful woman.Regardless of your peerless elegance, time will always be the only enemy.

It is Liu Bei's greatest wish to unify the world before he dies. Therefore, after the pacification of Jiangdong, his thoughts on the Northern Expedition became more and more serious, and he often talked about it.

It's just that the advisers knew that now was not the time for the Northern Expedition, so they had been trying hard to persuade Liu Bei, which prevented Liu Bei from launching the Northern Expedition immediately.

However, everyone in the government and the public knew what he was thinking. Although everyone was persuading him, they did not dare to directly give him a date, lest he would be blamed by Liu Bei if he could not do it by then, so everyone just shirked and waited for the opportunity.

But today, Shen Chen gave Liu Bei an exact time.

The three people sat side by side in the side hall, and Liu Bei sat cross-legged on the main seat. Although he was getting old, he was still energetic and healthy, and he was not unable to walk because of old age.

It's just that he feels that the older he is, the physical strength and martial arts are not as good as when he was young, and he can fight everywhere at once, so he realizes that his days are not long.

At this moment, when he heard Shen Chen's response to the three-year Northern Expedition, he couldn't help sighing: "Three years, maybe it's too long. I'm sixty-two now, and in three years, no one knows whether it will be too long." I’m still alive, I’m afraid I won’t see that day.”

"Lord."

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "My lord's body has always been very healthy, and he can go on a horse and fight. Why should we be afraid of these short three years?"

When meeting in private, Liu Bei seldom called himself Zhen, and he and Guan Zhang were brothers.They are not as solemn as holding a meeting with Zhuge Liang, and it is often enough to let them continue to call their lords as before, which is much more casual than in formal occasions.

"Ugh."

Liu Bei sighed, then thought for a while, and asked, "Is it really going to take three years?"

Shen Chen replied: "My lord, it is not a good thing to act too hastily. Although Gaozu perished Qin in three years and Chu in five years, it was because of the chaos in the world and the people's hearts. Now the north is becoming more and more stable, and Cao Wei is powerful. We need to slow down and not rush. Seek success. You should imitate the Qin State and take every step of the way, so that you can swallow the world and dominate the world."

"Ah."

Liu Bei pressed his hands on his knees, then looked at the table and nodded slightly with his lips pursed, and then said: "Although the Northern Expedition will take three years, these three years should not be wasted, it should be prepared."

"nature."

Shen Chen said: "That's why I want to transfer to Hanzhong."

"Go to Hanzhong?"

Liu Bei was surprised: "Xiaoqing has been guarding Nanyang for more than ten years, is he going to Yizhou all of a sudden?"

"Yes."

Shen Chen said: "To fight the north, you must have cavalry. Henan and Hebei are flat, and cavalry come and go like lightning. Cao Pi only has a few thousand in Huainan, because their cavalry can rush to help quickly. So they have something , we must also have, and better than them."

Liu Bei thought for a while and said, "Since that's the case, why don't you go to Liangzhou?"

Shen Chen smiled wryly and said: "Isn't Uncle Yide in Liangzhou? He has a hot temper and likes to drink and cause trouble. I have conflicts with his temper. If we want to control him by force, there will be conflicts."

"It's easy."

Liu Bei laughed and said, "Yide and I haven't seen each other for several years. He didn't come even when I was enthroned. Brothers really should see each other. I make you the governor of Yongyiliang, the shepherd of Liangzhou, and the envoy. How about supervising Bashu, Guanzhong, and Liangzhou's military affairs, and governing Liangzhou's civil affairs?"

"Thank you, my lord."

Shen Chen happily bowed his hands.

This is to hand over the military power of the entire Sichuan, Gansu, Hanzhong and other places, as well as the civil management power of Gansu.

Liu Bei is like this, as long as he has 100% trust, it is really easy to get an official from him.

For example, Zhuge Liang was appointed as the fourth member of the group when he was just a fledgling.

But this is also the result of his good use of people.

Historically, Liu Bei knew that Ma Di was not useful, so he told Zhuge Liang not to use him again.

As a result, after his death, Zhuge Liang still forgot Liu Bei's instructions and reused Ma Di.

Sure enough, Ma Di was defeated by Zhang Yun in the battle of Jieting.

Now Zhang Fei went to Xiliang, because Liu Bei knew that Zhang Fei himself was a cavalry general, galloping in Xiliang was like a fish entering the sea or a bird flying into the blue sky.

But his going to Xiliang can only be temporary.

Zhang Fei has a rough and bold temperament, which is an advantage and a disadvantage.

On weekdays, Liu Bei and Guan Yu can discipline him.

But once outside alone, this kind of personality becomes moody, arrogant and easy to cause trouble.

Although there were frequent reports of victories in Xiliang, Zhang Fei went to Guanlong as a tiger and defeated the rebel Qiang people.

But it is also said that this is because Zhang Fei was too harsh, which caused the Qiang people to rebel repeatedly.

So he simply took this opportunity to transfer Zhang Fei back from Xiliang and let Shen Chen go over to replace him.

Shen Chen is not only able to fight, but also has a relatively moderate personality. He can march on a horse and calm the people when he is off a horse.

Such a smooth subjugation of the Qiang people and good management of the land of Yongliang can form a pincer attack on Guanzhong and pave the way for the recovery of the old capital.

This is Liu Bei's knowledge of people.

After agreeing to Shen Chen's request to go to the northwest, Liu Bei asked, "Kong Ming, Xiaoqing, what do you think about the Northern Expedition?"

Zhuge Liang replied: "Both Xiaoqing and I believe that we should take Guanzhong first, recover the lost land, and then take Henan and Hebei."

"Why Guanzhong?"

Liu Bei asked.

Zhuge Liang took out the map from his bosom, stepped forward and spread it on Liu Bei's table and said: "My lord, please see that Guanzhong and Guandong are separated by the Qinling Mountains and the Five Elements Mountains. Once a war breaks out, it is difficult for Cao Wei to rush to help immediately. , Guanzhong is easier to obtain.”

"Ah."

Liu Bei nodded in agreement: "That's right. Actually, I also asked the Taiwei about this matter. He also said to take Guanzhong first and attack Henan later."

Shen Chen said: "It's impossible for Cao Pi and the others not to have thought that we would attack Chang'an first, so he deployed tens of thousands of troops in Chang'an, thinking he was safe, but he didn't know that after we recuperated for three years, the army would surround Chang'an and make them The land of Sansuke is lost."

Zhuge Liang also said with a smile: "At that time, my lord can lead the main force northward to Yecheng to confront the main force of Cao Wei and restrain its troops. The general will attack Huainan from the northeast of the Jiangxi River and attack Hefei. In this way, three routes of troops will advance and two feints will attack. In fact, we will The last way is to go north from Wuguan, join forces from Yongliang, and break through Chang'an!"

"Wonderful, wonderful."

Liu Bei said with satisfaction: "Xiaoqing often said that strategy must be used in order to seek a country. Today's strategy is to win Guanzhong first."

"Exactly."

Shen Chen replied: "However, there is no one in Guanzhong for thousands of miles, and the transportation of grain and grass is not smooth. Therefore, it is necessary to take steps at every step and plan slowly. After I go to Yongliang, I will prepare grain and grass in the Chen warehouse, form a large cavalry, and rush to Chang'an for thousands of miles. I will catch Cao Jun by surprise!"

Liu Bei said excitedly: "Okay, Xiaoqing needs anything else, just tell me, I will fully support."

"It's nothing else, just looking for three people from the lord."

Shen Chen laughed.

"Who?"

"Zhao Yun, Pang De, Yu Jin."

"The ban?"

Liu Bei was at a loss: "Ling Ming is a native of Liangzhou and is good at cavalry. Zilong is also a gallant cavalry general. I can understand them. Yu Ban may not be willing to sacrifice his life for a surrendered general. What do you want him to do?"

After the Battle of Jingzhou, there were more than [-] captured soldiers from Cao Wei and Jiangdong alone.

Now the captive soldiers in Jiangdong have fallen with the Sun family, and Jiangdong belongs to Liu Bei. Therefore, Jiangdong soldiers are either dismissed and returned to their hometowns to cultivate the land, or those who are willing to stay and continue to serve in the army are selected and trained to form an army.

Only Cao Wei's descendants are still left in the Nanyang Basin, and they have become pawns in farming, marrying wives and having children, but staying in the south to thrive.

Since the end of the Han Dynasty, due to natural disasters, plagues, wars, famines and other conditions, the population has dropped significantly.

Young adults are often recruited as Ding, making it more common to have more boys and girls.Some are like Europe during World War II. Although the ratio of men to women is not as exaggerated as in Europe, it is also seriously unbalanced.

Therefore, Cao Wei's descendants can still be resettled.

Only Cao Wei's generals who surrendered were quite a headache.

Their attitude is not bad, after all, if the attitude is not good, then just kill them directly, no need to trouble.

But he was respectful and willing to surrender, but Liu Bei didn't dare to reuse him.

It would be nice to be younger.

Like Wang Ping in history, he was originally from Badi. Because Cao Cao moved to Luoyang, he joined the army in Luoyang and returned to Badi to fight. After being captured, he returned to his hometown. At a young age, he married a wife and had children on the spot. No need to worry about loyalty.

But Yu Jin’s group are all 60 to [-]-year-olds, and their families are all in the north. Not to mention the concerns of relatives, it is difficult to marry another wife and have children, and start a new family in the south.

So these Cao Weijiang will not be easy to arrange.

If they are reused, they are afraid that they will defect, or cause trouble at critical moments.If they are not reused, these are the elite generals in the north with rich experience, and it is a pity that they cannot be used after they have surrendered.

So Liu Bei had no choice but to give them some idle official positions to help Cao Pi support them.

It is also worth mentioning that Sun Quan is now the Marquis of Anle.Currently living in Anlehou Mansion in Xiangyang, he is often invited by Liu Bei to watch singing and dancing.

During the Wei and Jin Dynasties of the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty, the monarchs who surrendered were relatively lenient and would be given certain preferential treatment. It was not until Liu Yu did the bad thing of killing the monarchs of the country. Now it is still a civilized period, and Liu Bei naturally cannot do such things.

When Liu Bei asked him why he wanted Yu Jin, Shen Chen said with a smile: "Although Yu Jin is a surrendered general, he is familiar with Cao Jun's combat system and can train soldiers. Since he has surrendered and surrendered, it would be a pity if he didn't use it, let alone me. There is no need for him to lead troops, as long as he follows me to Xiliang."

"I'm afraid he will take the opportunity to escape."

Liu Bei worried: "If I'm asked to help train our soldiers, once he escapes, won't it be leaking the military plan?"

Shen Chen thought for a while and said, "It's okay, at worst, I'll move his family to the south."

"Oh?"

Liu Bei was surprised and said, "Xiaoqing has a solution?"

Shen Chen smiled and said: "To tell the truth, my lord, I still have some connections with Cao Wei."

The connections he was talking about naturally did not refer to any former students and officials there, but the spy network that had been formed since the early years of Jian'an.

In an era of underdeveloped information, it is very difficult to form an underground organization.

Even if there are spies, they are often not organizations, but individuals like Sun Shangxiang.

But its difficulty lies not in communication, but in whether the organization is tight.

Like the Spring and Autumn Period, there was already such an extremely strict organization of the Mohist School. With an order, Mohist children from all over the country could gather immediately. Even if they were faced with the choice of life and death, they would die generously. It could be said that they walked in the dark and served the light.

Shen Chen took Huangmen Township as his base. At the earliest, he sent villagers to Xuchang to sneak into the city under the cover of various livelihoods. He often communicated with Kong Rong and other Han Dynasty veterans and carried out underground activities.

Because of the hatred between them and Cao Cao, the villagers deeply hated Cao Cao's slaughter of Xuzhou, and they were responsible for their kinship, so they worked in secret and always did their best.

Afterwards, they selected people who were often oppressed by the government at the bottom, the nobles who were loyal to the Han Dynasty, and the remnants of the Yellow Turbans who were defeated in the war with Cao Cao. They formed a spy organization based on their hatred of Cao Wei and an independent upper and lower contact network.

For example, Wang Xing, the spy leader in Chendu, was from Xuzhou. His parents and relatives were all slaughtered by Cao Cao, and he had a deep hatred with Cao Jun.

There is also a three-person team of Xu Yin, Zhou Ai, and Li Mu lurking in Zhu Shuo's mansion in Yecheng. Except for Xu Yin who is from Hejian, Zhou Ai and Li Mu are both from Xuzhou and have enmity with Cao Wei.

Even Xu Yin has reasons to resist Cao Wei.

After Cao Cao established Hebei, he fought in the south and fought in the north, and levied violently on Hebei. The people in Hebei cherished the Yuan family and rose up to resist, so that rebellions broke out. Among them, Su Bo and Tian Yin from Hejian launched a rebellion. Very popular.

Xu Yin was originally from a small family in Hebei. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the family was ruined. The two elder brothers finally became officials in Yuan Shaona. It seemed that the family was about to be revitalized. As a result, the two elder brothers died in the battle of Guandu, and the family fell again.

And there are too many examples like them.

Shen Chen deliberately wrote some articles about Cao Wei's brutal rule and a summary of his views on human nature. He urged them to read them frequently to unify their thoughts, and taught them that they were fighting for the sake of the people of the country and overthrowing the brutal rule.

These articles were slowly collected and sorted out, and it became the "On Human Being" that Shen Chen had almost finished drafting. It still took Confucian benevolence as the core of thought, but it also had a Mohist meaning.

The main reason is that the thought of Mohism is a bit anti-human, and Confucian benevolence is the three normal views. Even after 2000, Confucianism "love, health, fairness, justice, honesty, trustworthiness, reform, innovation, civilization, harmony, rule of law" Thoughts are still right.

It is only because the ruling class needs to use Confucianism to enslave the people, so it takes the dross and discards the essence, and distorts some of the meanings in it.

Therefore, it is not a bad thing to follow the path of Confucianism, but it cannot become a cynic who distorts his thoughts or a corrupt Confucian who clings to dogma.Instead, we should praise his true ideological core and become a great Confucian with a sense of justice in his heart.

Shen Chen discarded the dross of Confucianism, took its essence, integrated some of his own philosophical views, added Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind and the thoughts of the great teacher of later generations, and mixed his own Shenology, which is already the first school. Become a generation master.

Under his ideological teaching, the spy organization in the north has been operating for more than ten years, but there has not been a single rebellion. Cao Wei has no idea that there is a group of people operating in the dark under his nose.

Yu Jin was not from a big family, his old wife had died of illness, and he had only one son, Yu Gui.Cao Wei also didn't intend to liquidate the families of the generals who surrendered, and didn't even care about or consider these issues, so it was still easy to bring Yu Gui out of the north.

When Liu Bei heard that Shen Chen had a way to bring Yu Jin's family to the south, he didn't ask what the way was, and said, "Since Xiaoqing already has an idea, let's do it according to Xiaoqing's idea."

"Thank you my lord!"

Shen Chen bowed his hands and let out a long breath.

Going to Liangzhou is another new beginning, but whether it is the hatred for Cao Wei or the longing for a new world, it will become the motivation to push him forward.

He hopes to build a relatively fair world and spread his ideas to influence more people to participate in it.

Then history will take its course.

There is no Wuhuluhua, and there is no dark Southern and Northern Dynasties that cannibalize people.

some.

Just a strong man, and on the road of new cosmopolitan change!