Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 443

In the emperor's dormitory of the Xiangyang Imperial Palace, Liu Bei leaned on a wooden slum, looking at the three of them with cloudy eyes.

Zhuge Liang, Shen Chen, and Guan Yu stood beside the bed and waited anxiously.

Spices are burning in the indoor furnace, slightly dispelling the smell of medicine, the windows are open for ventilation, the sun is shining outside, and the atmosphere inside is heavy.

Seeing the solemn faces of the three of them, Liu Bei smiled and said, "What's the matter with you three? Even Kong Ming pacified Nanzhong. He was a great general on the battlefield. He was used to life and death, so why did he feel sad instead?" .”

"Brother. Oh."

Even though Guan Yu was a man who did not flick his tears easily, seeing Liu Bei's current state, he still couldn't help the tears from the corners of his eyes that kept falling.

Liu Bei stretched out his hand to signal the three of them to get closer, and then said to them, "I asked you to come, and you must know the reason. The great cause of the unification of the country has not been achieved, but I am going to die, and the rest will be entrusted to you."

"Brother."

Guan Yu went up to squat on the ground, and his two-meter-high body became rickety at this moment. He held Liu Bei's outstretched hand tightly, looked at him, and said, "Don't say such depressing words, big brother. The country's major affairs are still on the way." Big brother."

Liu Bei smiled and said, "Okay, Yun Chang, I know my body. Everyone has this time, so you don't want to be so affectionate. Xiaoqing said, don't indulge in fantasy, but accept the facts."

"Brother."

Guan Yu and Liu Bei have a very deep relationship, even if Liu Bei said so, how could he not feel sad?

Liu Bei patted his hand and said softly: "My death is imminent, thanks to the help of all the lords, I have no regrets to revive the Han Dynasty in the south. I only hope that the country can be unified as soon as possible, Kong Ming."

"His Majesty."

Zhuge Liang stepped forward and cupped his hands.

Liu Bei said: "After I die, the crown prince will inherit the throne, and the king will do the work of the Duke of Zhou, and the state affairs will all be assisted by Kong Ming."

"I will keep it in mind."

Zhuge Liang solemnly bowed and saluted.

This is an attempt to take care of one's life and leave one alone.

Since King Cheng of Zhou entrusted state affairs to Zhou Gongdan before his death, Minister Gu Ming was born.

Moreover, the Minister of Gu Ming is often not one, but a team composed of many people.

For example, King Zhou Cheng left Zhou Gongdan, Zhao Gongshi, Bi Gonggao and others to assist Zhou Kangwang, so there was the rule of Chengkang.

The team left behind by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty before his death was the general Huo Guang, the chariot general Jin Rixun, the left general Shangguan Jie, and the censor doctor Sang Hongyang to assist Emperor Han Zhao.

Now Liu Bei obviously intends to follow the example of King Zhou Cheng and Emperor Wu of the Han, leaving Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, General Guan Yu and Hussar General Shen Chen to assume the role of Gu Ming.

After Liu Bei entrusted Zhuge Liang, he called again: "Yun Chang, Xiaoqing."

"Brother."

"His Majesty."

Both Guan Yu and Shen Chen responded.

Liu Bei continued: "The great cause of the Northern Expedition is entrusted to you. The soldiers, horses and troops are all under your control and assigned by the prime minister. Major matters need to be discussed together."

"Yes."

Both took orders.

Liu Bei said, "Did Xiaoqing say before that he was going to attack Bingzhou?"

Shen Chen replied: "Yes, Your Majesty, I have already prepared soldiers and horses, as well as food, grass and equipment. We will first take Hedong, and then attack Bingzhou, threatening Hanoi, Luoyang and other places."

"Ah."

Liu Bei asked Guan Yu again, "Yun Chang, how is Huainan?"

Guan Yu replied: "Hefei has just been captured, and the soldiers and horses are still quite tired, so they are still rectifying military affairs. After the follow-up food, grass, weapons and ordnance are all delivered, we can continue to attack Guangling Runan and other places."

Liu Bei said: "Can Xiaoqing support Yun Chang and attack together with Yun Chang?"

Shen Chen shook his head and said: "For military affairs, we still have to adapt accordingly. If we attack together, we may lose the opportunity. What's more, I think it's a good thing for me to attack first."

"Why?"

"If I attack Hedong and threaten Bingzhou and Hanoi, Cao Wei will be terrified. At this time, the general will not move, and even pretend that he can't go north. He will only send people to Hefei, and the main force will retreat to Ruxukou. Cao Jun may mobilize the defenders in Runan to defend Bingzhou At that time, Runan may be better able to break through."

"Well, that's it."

Liu Bei tapped his chin lightly, and sighed after a while: "There is Xiaoqing in Guanzhong, and Yunchang in Huainan, I am satisfied enough. Now the only worry is that if I die, there will be no leader in Henan battlefield, Yide is reckless, Meng Qi can't With too much power in the military, Shi Yuan and Xiaozhi sometimes turn to the left, which is worrying."

This is what Liu Bei is most worried about now.

In history, Ma Chao died of illness very quickly, but now because he is doing well in the south, he even followed Liu Bei to defeat Cao Jun several times, and barely avenged some revenge for his family, so he did not die of vomiting blood as he did in history.

But among the five tiger generals, only Guan Yu has the ability to command an army.Although Ma Chao was able to lead the army, he was defeated by Cao Cao several times when he led the army. It would be difficult for him to be the general.

In addition, his character is flawed, self-willed, and capricious.Liu Bei has always been knowledgeable, so it is naturally impossible to hand over the post of chief general to Ma Chao.

The rest Huang Zhong died of illness.

Zhang Fei also has flaws in his personality, he is irritable and impulsive and prone to bad things.

Zhao Yun is calm and calm, and may be able to be a commander, but he has almost no experience in leading troops alone in his many years of military career. The limited time was a surprise attack on Sun Quan in the city of Xunyang. It is difficult to command an army of more than 10 people.

However, Pang Tong and Fazheng's staff have more significance, and Pang Tong has a gentle temperament, while Fazheng has a violent temperament, so they are not suitable to be the chief generals. Sometimes they even quarrel, which is easy to cause conflicts.

So once Liu Bei, who was mediating in the middle, died, there was indeed no one in the Henan battlefield who could take on the responsibility of the general.

Zhuge Liang recommended: "Your Majesty can make Zhao Yun the general of Guanzhong, and Xiaoqing return to Henan."

"Xiaoqing?"

Liu Bei looked at Shen Chen and said, "What do you think?"

"Let me go back to Henan?"

Shen Chen lowered his head and thought for a while.

At present, there are only three handsome men with real strength, themselves, Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu.

Zhao Yun may be able to be the main general, but after all, he has no experience in leading large-scale military operations. Regardless of his command in the Battle of Jigu in history, he did not cause much loss when he lost the battle with Cao Jun.

The problem is that the Guanzhong battlefield is a large-scale war involving more than 30 people and [-] people. There are very few people in the Three Kingdoms at the end of Han Dynasty who can command so many people at the same time.

Sun Quan did take him with him, and was tortured into a fool by Zhang Liao.Cao Cao also took it, and Chibi was burned to the ground.After that, Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, Jiang Wei, Zhong Hui, Sima Fu, Sima Zhao and others seemed to be the only ones who were able to win over [-] ranks and win without major defeat.

Even Jiang Wei was skeptical, because Zhong Hui had brought more than 6 troops at most, and Jiang Wei had at most 10 or 6 troops. There is no record of bringing more than [-] people at one time. The door closed to block Zhonghui's more than [-] troops.

In addition, Sima Fu and Sima Zhao were playing tricks. In the Battle of Xincheng, Sima Fu was just defending, waiting for Zhuge Ke to retreat because of the plague.Sima Zhao was fighting a mob, not an elite confrontation.

Therefore, such a large-scale corps battle, and the elite main forces of both sides are fighting, must have strong military capabilities.

Zhao Yun may be a good player with thousands of people or 2 or 10 in small-scale battles, but whether he can afford a military commander with a scale of more than [-] in Guanzhong must be a matter for discussion.

Thinking of this, Shen Chen shook his head and said: "Uncle Zilong has no experience in commanding an army of more than [-] troops. I fear that his negligence in the confrontation with Cao's army will affect the entire battle situation. Therefore, to be on the safe side, I think it is necessary to have one Experienced generals are in Guanzhong."

"What about Henan?"

Liu Bei asked.

Shen Chen looked at Zhuge Liang, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister's ability to use troops is not inferior to mine, so why bother to look far away?"

"Prime Minister?"

Liu Bei turned his head. He didn't doubt Zhuge Liang's military ability. After all, Zhuge Liang had already proved himself in the battle of Nanzhong.

The main reason is that the current south is not like the Liu Bei Group that only owned Yizhou in history, but the entire south of the Huaihe River, plus Guanzhong and Liangzhou in the northwest.

Such a large territory is almost twice that of Cao Wei.

Even though most of them are sparsely populated mountainous areas and habitats of ethnic minorities, the larger the territory, the more government affairs will be handled geometrically.

Now that Liu Bei fell ill, when he died, even if Liu Chan had just inherited the throne, he would not be able to handle government affairs.

Therefore, at that time, the political affairs of the entire south will be tied to Zhuge Liang.

Not even just government affairs.

They were at the critical stage of the Northern Expedition, and Zhuge Liang had to collect food, grass, ordnance, and supplies to the front line.

If Zhuge Liang left, there would obviously be no one to take care of the country's government affairs.At that time, even if Zhuge Liang achieves results on the front line, the rear may be a mess.

When Liu Bei heard Shen Chen's recommendation of Zhuge Liang, he hesitated and said, "But Kong Ming is responsible for all major national affairs now, if he goes out to fight."

Shen Chen said: "Your Majesty, the country's government affairs are indeed cumbersome, but the three deputy ministers and so many officials from the three provinces and Taiwan departments are enough to deal with it. Only this important military matter must have a mastermind so that there will be no damage."

"Ah."

Liu Bei thought it made sense, Xi Yi looked at Zhuge Liang and said, "Kong Ming, if I die, Henan will be handed over to you."

"My minister obeys."

Zhuge Liang did not refuse, and finally complied with the request.

Because what Shen Chen said was right.

A large-scale army battle is not a battle involving tens of millions of people. It is related to the fate of the country, so we must be cautious.

After all, Zhao Yun had no experience in leading troops in this area, and if there were mistakes, the Northern Expedition might fail completely, so it was safest for him to go out in person.

Liu Bei didn't hesitate at the moment, and divided the current military power of the Han Dynasty into three, with Shen Chen, Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu in charge respectively.

At the same time, let the three of them take charge of state affairs as Minister Gu Ming, with Zhuge Liang as the main one, while Shen Chen and Guan Yu can manage the appointment of officials and local government affairs in Liangzhou, Hanzhong, Guanzhong, Huainan, Yangzhou and other places.

In this way, the whole big man is almost divided into three, and the power is controlled by three people.

But Liu Bei was not afraid that they would rebel and separatist. He clearly realized that he was born as a grassroots, and that he could have what he is today, all relying on the help of the three.

If they had had a different heart a long time ago, they would not be able to have the huge south now.

So he has full confidence in them.

Afterwards, the four chatted for a while, and Liu Bei's energy soon became worse and worse, and he fell asleep slowly and tired again.

They didn't dare to disturb them, so they could only retreat outside the hall first.

Seeing them coming out, everyone surrounded them. Empress Wu, Mrs. Gan, Mrs. Mi and others entered the hall to accompany Liu Bei, and the rest of the people chatted in the hall.

In the evening, everyone dispersed.

On the way out of the palace, Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang walked together.

In the palace, there is a post at three steps, and a sentry at five steps.

They went towards the main entrance of the palace, and when they reached the left side of the Deyang Hall under the brackets, Zhuge Liang suddenly asked, "Xiaoqing."

"Ok?"

"How do you recommend me as the main general of Henan?"

"After thinking about it, only brother is left."

Shen Chen sighed.

"Your Majesty feels that the end is approaching. Can the Northern Expedition continue?"

Zhuge Liang looked to the north worriedly.

If Liu Bei really died, it would definitely have a great shock to the south.

Now that the war has been fought for a year and a half, the soldiers are actually exhausted, and the morale of the army is not as high as it was at the beginning.

If it weren't for the successive victories on the western and eastern fronts, I'm afraid morale would be low, and the troops should have retreated long ago.

If after a while, Liu Bei really died of illness and the news spread to the frontline army, the morale of the soldiers would definitely drop to the bottom. Even if he went in person, he might not necessarily win.

This was too much of a blow for the big man.

Shen Chen thought about it: "Brother, what do you mean, should we retreat?"

"Ah."

Zhuge Liangliang nodded and said: "If your Majesty is really in danger, it is the best choice to retreat to Nanyang first."

"I also agree with the retreat."

Shen Chen said.

Zhuge Liang gave him a strange look, and said, "Aren't you worried that the Northern Expedition will be more difficult after the retreat?"

Shen Chen shook his head and said: "The unification war is not so easy to fight, but it must be fought no matter how difficult it is. Besides, we are at least in a strategic advantage. As long as we manage Guanzhong and Huainan properly, we will soon be able to launch a new round of offensive. Now Cao Wei withstood our attack and continued to attack, the soldiers and horses are all exhausted, and they should come back to rest."

"Ugh"

Zhuge Liang let out a long sigh.

In fact, there are some things he has not said to Liu Bei.

That is, although Shen Chen and Guan Yu have gained a lot of advantages.

However, the Henan battlefield has been in a stalemate for a long time, and there are even some passive disadvantages.

This means that the two sides will fall into a protracted war.

At the level of Cao Wei and Dahan, it is impossible for anyone to annex each other in one bite. They can only win slowly and eat away at every step.

Therefore, if the war continues, it is likely that both sides will suffer, or they will eventually have to retreat back sadly.

Therefore, it is best to accept as soon as it is good, occupy Guanzhong and Huainan first, and then slowly devour the north.

It's a pity that Liu Bei hadn't listened to persuasion before and insisted on continuing to attack the north. As a result, the last six months have basically been futile and consumed food and grass.

Now Liu Bei is seriously ill, even if no one wants him to die now, but if he really dies at this time, maybe it is time to retreat and come back to rest and prepare for the next Northern Expedition.

　I didn't break the chapter on purpose yesterday. I haven't broken the chapter for a long time. It must be careless. It's a small problem.I haven’t had much energy to code words today. I forcibly typed them out. The weather is too hot, and I feel like I have a heat stroke. I feel drowsy.I'll see if I can code Chapter 2. If I can't code it and go to sleep, it's gone, and I probably can't make it up, but at least there should be two chapters tomorrow, and maybe a single chapter the day after tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, because I have to go to another place for a blind date (Dating), hey hey hey.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)